


The Games We Play

by im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Adult Content, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Best Friends, Cake, Cheating, Denial of Feelings, Drama, Explicit Language, F/M, Fights, Friends to Lovers, Gender or Sex Swap, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Jealousy, Kissing, OTP: Cake, Out of Character, Over-protective!Michael, Romance, Secret Crush, Secret Relationship, Smut, Teasing, Top Calum, Unrequited Love, abusive language, girl!luke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-04-12 18:21:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4489947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance/pseuds/im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael has always warned his friends to keep away from his boyish little sister, Lucy (Luke). But what happens when Lucy secretly allowed Calum to get a little too close to her? Will something blossom between them? Was it Love or simply Lust?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Luke halted the ball in motion with her chest before passing it to the left. Luke, Luciana Hemmings to be exact, was a normal recently turned 17 years teenage girl, living in Sydney. Normal was the life she was living but Luke did not have a very easy early childhood. Karen was returning from one of the charity events she usually attended, one rainy Saturday when her car broke down. With the bad weather and no cell phone reception, she would have been stuck on the highway for long hours if it were not for the handsome gentleman who offered her help and poof! Love blossomed. One year later, they were married and at two years of age, Luke finally got a mother, considering she never met her own. However, three years later, Karen and the handsome gentleman parted ways but Luke stayed behind, with her mum and soon enough, she turned out to be everybody’s favourite and twelve years later, that did not change. Even though she was a girl, Luke never considered herself to be one. Her wardrobe consisted mainly of: skinny jeans, loose t-shirts, track pants, hoodies, trainers and most things that can be found in a boy’s closet. The only female friend she had was Mali, her best friend. The two of them met in 2nd grade and have been inseparable since then and there was never a thing that they did not do together. That did not prevent her from hanging out with Michael, her older brother, and his friends; playing soccer with them was one of the things she liked to do the most.

Luke shouted as one of the guys playing on her team kicked the ball off the field. After getting hold of the ball, Calum made a beeline to the net, keeping the ball secure between his feet. When he was sure about the distance, he took a powerful swing of his leg, sending the ball flying, its final destination, the net. However, Michael was faster and dived in, kicking the ball with his head, thus preventing Calum’s team from scoring. Luke ran to Michael and high fived the boy for his achievement.

Michael Clifford, nearly 19 years old, has gotten the looks that made almost every girl in the neighbourhood get weak in the knees. His fun-loving and down-to-earth personality had always been to his advantage. Michael was also known for his cheeky and flirty side; although he had been dating Mali for the past three years, his flirty side would not leave him. His relationship with Mali was the longest and only romantic relationship he had ever been in and his two best friends, Calum and Ashton, would always tease him about it. Michael, Calum and Ashton met at nursery school and have been best friends since; also, they shared the same hobby, which was music. Even if before knowing Mali, it was common for Michael to date two girls at the same time, he was very protective over Luke. If looking at girls was something he liked, he never appreciated it when boys looked at Luke; his sister was important to him and he wanted to save her from bad guys breaking her heart. Michael’s friends were the only boys he would allow Luke to hang out with, as he knew if she were always in front of him, he would be able to look out for her better.

“Eric, pass the ball,” Michael called out, waving at the blonde boy.

Eric ignored Michael’s words and turned in the other direction, trying to find another player to do a pass. Michael let out a frustrated groan when Calum subtly stole the ball from Eric, his next target the net. Calum’s aim was perfect and that was the first goal since the game started. Calum ran to Luke who was nearby and laughed as he bumped shoulder with her.

Calum Hood, 18 years old, had always gotten what he needed and also much more than necessary from his parents. Calum was always chilled out and relaxed; he never let anything get to him. Like Michael, he also was a heartbreaker. Flirting was his favourite hobby. However, there was a hidden side to his personality that was not shown to everyone; only those close to him got the opportunity to witness that side of him. To many, Calum may seem very mature for his age but he was the most childish out of the three of them. One of his favourite things to do was teasing Luke about her boyish behaviour and her obvious absence of femininity.

Calum jumped to hug Ashton as he scored, making them lead the match 2-0. Michael gathered his team in a circle, discussing a new strategy to make them win.

“You’re gonna get creamed,” Calum laughed as he walked past the circle.

“Shut up Hood!” Michael said as he pushed Calum away so that the other boy would not hear how they would turn the table around.

Calum landed flat on his bottom from the push and he lifted his head to scowl at Michael, who was no longer paying attention to him. Ashton laughed as he extended his hand to help Calum.

Ashton Irwin, also 18 year old, was the funny one, always laughing at everything and nothing. After losing his sick younger sister at the age of 10, Ashton realised life was too short and you should not waste it; thus, you should always be happy and smile. He made it his mission to cheer and make everybody laugh and he never failed so far. Despite his philosophy about life, he was insecure about his looks, thinking he did not look good enough and that people only liked him because he was friend with Michael and Calum. Ashton was the only one who did not make fun of Luke because of how she looked, considering he had issues himself and could totally put himself in her place. In addition, Ashton was the only one who was single nor was he looking for a relationship; it may seem strange to people but Ashton had never dated anyone and he always kept saying he was waiting for the One.

“Woohoo, that’s 3-2 and we win this,” Luke shouted after scoring again for her team.

“What? That doesn’t even count. The time’s over,” Calum protested.

“There’s still 2 minutes left in the game,” Luke replied after checking her watch and turning it to Calum’s face so that he could see as well. “We won, fair and square.”

“You guys cheated, you have a girl on your team. So, by default, you’re disqualified and we win,” Calum argued, not ready to accept defeat.

“A girl? I don’t see any girl around,” Luke scoffed.

“You, you are the girl,” Calum replied, pressing his index against Luke’s forehead.

“Oh, that’s really sweet,” Luke smiled. “But you do realise that you’ve never called or considered me as a girl, right?”

“If Luke’s playing next time, I'm not playing,” Calum voiced out but no one was really listening to him; after all, he always whined after losing. Calum always turned into a drama queen when he was not having his ways.

“You say that every time,” Luke laughed.

“You, I'm not talking to you,” on that, Calum turned and went to join Michael and Ashton who were already making themselves comfortable on the grass as Ashton set his guitar on his lap.

Calum dropped himself in front of Michael and Ashton and the three started a deep conversation about school. Luke walked to the trio and seated herself behind Michael. She could hear them talk about the same thing that they usually talked about and it made her wonder if they would ever get tired of talking about the same thing again and again. Sighing, she let herself fall backward and stretched her legs as she lay on the freshly cut grass as the light, late Friday afternoon sun shone on her skin. Her eyes were staring at the moving clouds while her mind was trying to interpret what the white fluffy masses looked like. When she felt herself starting to doze off, Luke got up and grabbed the ball that rested beside Michael and by Calum’s foot. She was busy bouncing it up and down on her left knee when she felt someone’s presence behind her.

“Give me that,” Calum ordered rather than asked.

“Why? It was lying there the whole time and you weren’t interested but now that I'm playing, you suddenly want it,” Luke said, holding the ball against her hip.

“Just give it to me,” Calum took a step towards Luke.

“Never,” Luke moved further away from Calum.

Luke turned around and jogged away from Calum who did not waste a second to chase after her. Running at a faster pace, it did not take long for Calum to reach her. Luke let out a squeal when she felt Calum’s arm snake around her waist, halting her. She dropped the ball as Calum easily lifted her off her feet and spun them both around, going faster with each turn.

“Calum, stop!” Luke laughed, kicking her legs in the air, trying to break free from Calum’s hold.

“No!” Calum chuckled, going even faster than he already was, if that was possible.

“Noooo-ooohhhh, stooooooppppp! If you don’t stop, I’ll bite you,” Luke warned.

“I don’t think so.”

To prove her point, Luke turned her head to the side and bit down hard on Calum’s shoulder. Calum groaned at the sharp pain and instantly let go of Luke, who still held onto him to regain her balance.

“Hood is in pain,” Luke teased.

Calum playfully slapped her across her cheek before tugging on her shirt. “We all play topless, so if you wanna play with boys, you’ve gotta take this off,” Calum smirked.

Luke looked at Calum’s naked chest and rolled her eyes. “I play with my feet; I don’t see any relevance of being topless. Besides, I'm not fond of showing off, like some people.”

“Especially since you have nothing to show; I’ve seen 13 yrs olds with more boobs than you,” Calum snickered.

“Owww! That was a hard punch in the gut. Wait! How would you know that?”

“Just guessing,” Calum shrugged.

“Like always, you’re wrong,” Luke huffed.

“Yeah?” Calum asked as he walked behind her and pressed his chest to her back, grabbing her breast. “Ha! Nothing but a handful of shirt; looks like I'm right.”

“That’s because you grabbed the shirt and nothing else,” Luke laughed uncomfortably.

“Ok, let’s have a second try.”

“Can’t you think of anything else besides grabbing girls boobs?” Luke pushed Calum away from her. “You don’t have to prove any point coz I'm right.”

“Prove it!”

Calum reached for the blue shirt again, in an attempt to pull it off but Luke gripped his hands before hooking one leg behind his and pushing him backward. Calum lost his balance at the sudden action and landed on his rear, on the ground. Luke landed on top of Calum, with a whimper, since the latter was still holding onto the material of her cotton shirt, something that Luke had not anticipated when she had planned Calum’s fall. Luke pulled back and positioned herself in a sitting posture, resulting in her straddling Calum’s hips. With an evil smirk, Luke reached out to pinch anywhere of the wide expanse of skin available. Calum cursed and twisted her torturous hand away from his chest but Luke’s free hand pulled hard on his hair. Being the stronger one, Calum effortlessly rolled them over so that he was hovering above Luke.

“Get off me,” Luke tried to shove Calum off her but Calum was stronger and pinned her hands on the grass above her head.

“See what you did to me,” Calum motioned to the reddened skin of his torso. “Now wait and see what I’ll do. Pay back is sweet.” Calum wriggled his eyebrows. “Owww!”

“What?” Luke asked, looking at Calum.

Calum peeked over his shoulder, eyeing the offensive object that had hit the back of his head, only to see the ball rolling away. He could see Michael standing a few feet from them, arms crossed over his chest and a stern look on his face.

“Calum, get over here, we have important stuffs to talk about,” Michael yelled.

“Michael’s in protective mode; I better get up before I get assaulted,” Calum stated.

“You’re scared of Michael?” Luke snickered.

“No, my life’s precious to me.” Calum got to his feet and offered a helping hand to Luke who gladly took it.

Calum bent and picked the ball before walking to Michael and Ashton, not bothered to see whether Luke was following him or not. Luke grinned at Calum’s retreating figure as an idea popped in her head and she ran and jumped on his back. Calum held onto Luke and steadied himself so they did not land on the grass again.

“Then everyone call me childish,” Calum laughed when he felt Luke chuckled in his ear.

“What are you two up to?” Michael asked when his best friend and sister stood in front of him.

“We’re just goofing around,” Luke smiled and jumped off Calum’s back.

As the three boys again indulged themselves in another conversation involving music, Luke could not help but feel left out. Luke cleared her throat as she twirled a piece a grass around her index, obviously trying to shift the attention to her. Failing miserably, she pulled at the grass and threw it at Michael. To her dismay, the grass got stuck to Michael’s black hair but he did not even notice anything, leaving Luke to sigh to herself; these boys could be so annoying. Her next victim was Calum; Calum who seemed to be talking about something important, considering the serious look on his face and the other two who kept nodding. With another piece of grass in hand, Luke closed one of her eyes and aimed at her target. When she was sure she had it right, she threw it at Calum and it landed exactly where she wanted, in his mouth. Michael and Ashton burst into laughter at the sight while the situation was less funny to Calum who was scowling at Luke who pretended not to know anything about what had happened.

“Boy, you’re looking for trouble,” Calum looked at Luke, who was also laughing.

“It wasn’t me,” Luke defended. “Probably the wind.”

“Don’t think you can con me; I'm gonna make you eat that,” Calum said already moving closer to Luke, the grass in his hand.

“Quit it both of you. You’re like kids fighting over everything; can’t you behave like well-mannered grown-ups?” Michael asked, throwing his arms in the air.

“Your brother started it,” Calum protested.

“She’s my sister and I don’t care who started it; just don’t start another fight,” Michael sighed.

Calum rolled his eyes and settled on the ground again, that time, closer to Luke. “I’ll get you for that,” Calum whispered when he was sure Michael had his attention turned to Ashton and his guitar.

Luke stuck her tongue out at Calum as she pulled out her phone to see the text message she got from Mali.

_r u done? – Mali_

Luke typed in a quick message and tossed her phone in her bag.

“Although I'm not convinced your past boyfriends were not gay, I'm sure you have a thing for girls,” Calum said, attempting to hide the smirk playing on his lips.

“What do you mean?” Luke frowned.

“Which part of ‘I think your ex boyfriends were gay’ did you not understand?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? If they were gay they’d have dated guys and not me,” Luke scoffed.

“Luke, Luke, Luke, you’re a boy or did you forget that?” Calum laughed.

Luke was forced to roll her eyes again. “I don’t have a thing for girls and my name is Lucy, not Luke.”

“There’s your girlfriend,” Calum motioned to the figure that stood not far from them and waving at Luke.

“You mean, Michael’s girlfriend and your sister.” Luke got to her feet and pulled her bag over her shoulder before saying bye to Michael and turning to leave.

“I'm just waiting for the day that Michael will walk in on you and Mali getting it on; that’d be fun,” Calum mumbled as Luke walked pass him.

“That’s disgusting; she’s your sister,” Luke showed him the finger and continued to walk up to Mali, leaving Calum laughing behind her. Luke wiped her forehead with the back of her hand as she adjusted her bag with the other hand.

“Ugh... stop doing that; you’re a girl for god’s sake,” Mali shook her head disapprovingly.

If it was not for Mali who kept reminding her that she was a girl, Luke would have forgotten being one a long time ago.

Mali, 17 years old, was a social butterfly; she was friend with everyone but her best friend and confidant was Luke. Being Calum’s younger sister was always difficult, considering how much he teased her on a daily basis. Other than that, Mali was a complete diva; if she was not spending time with Michael, her boyfriend, or with Luke, she was either doing some shopping or at the beauty salon, making herself beautiful, not that she was not already. Although the difference between her and Luke was like the summer and winter, there had never been a problem between them and they got along really well.

Calum looked at the two retreating girls and turned his attention to the conversation that he had missed most of.

“We better head home, I’ll see you guys in the morning?” Michael got up and straightened his clothes, waiting for the others to gather their things before they could set off.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Mali was sitting on the carpeted floor of Luke’s not-so-girly room, her copybook opened in front of her while she painted her toenails with a pastel pink polish. Luke was across from her, doodling on a blank paper and bobbing her head to the beat of the song playing from her laptop.

“What were you two laughing at?” Mali asked out of the blue.

“Who? When?” Luke lifted her eyes from her drawing and looked at Mali.

“You and Calum, when I came to pick you,” Mali capped the polish and set it beside her.

“He thinks there’s something going on between us,” Luke shrugged. “But don’t worry, he’s just being an idiot as usual.”

Mali stared at Luke with wide eyes before slowly nodding at her friend and regaining her composure. “But you think he’s kinda cute though.”

“Who?”

“Calum of course, you silly,” Mali shook her head.

“Calum? Cute? No way; are you kidding me?”

“Don’t you think he’s cute; like seriously?” Mali asked, inspecting her nails. “He’s my brother, after all.”

“Nuh huh, not at all,” Luke snorted.

“Have you seen his biceps? They’re totally... wow.”

Luke sighed. “Are you trying to set me up with your brother?”

“Of course not but that doesn’t change the fact that Calum’s hot,” Mali smiled.

“You’ve completely lost it. Calum is anything but hot,” Luke shook her head negatively.

“Wow... right now, I'm also having doubts about your sexuality.”

“What? I like boys; I just don’t find Calum hot or attractive or cute or whatever.”

“I honestly think you two should date.”

“Two, who?”

“Calum and yourself,” Mali smiled and checked her nails for any imperfection again.

“Are you nuts? Calum and I are like the north and south pole; there can only be differences between us.”

“Differences? I don’t see any, I mean, you act like a couple already; always fighting before breaking into laughter.”

“Mali, for the record, platonic relationships are possible between guys and girls. Calum is just a really good friend, that’s all.”

“You don’t know how happy I am ‘cause you referred to yourself as a girl,” Mali clapped her hands excitedly. “Wait! The girl was you or Calum?”

“I wasn’t talking about Calum and I; that was a general statement.”

“So, you two can be more than friends... ‘cause exceptions do exist.”

“That’s never gonna happen... not on this earth... anymore word about us and I swear, I'm gonna shove that copybook down your throat,” Luke warned.

“Who do you like then? Is it Ashton?” Mali wriggled her eyebrows.

Luke grabbed a pillow from the bed and shoved it at Mali. “I’m not interested in any of Michael’s friends, if that’s what you wanna know.”

“If you had to choose between Ashton and Calum, who would you chose?”

“Maybe Ashton because Calum’s annoying; he gets on my nerves. However, Ashton never seems to be interested in anyone, so, it’s just me, on my own.”

“Calum’s free and available,” Mali stated with a huge grin.

“Nah, not even if my life depended on it; I’d rather be alone all my life than date Calum. Thank you.”

“Grrrrr! It’s useless arguing with you. You’re no fun; you could at least play along,” Mali sighed in defeat. “Anyways, can you help me with these?” Mali asked as she pushed the copybook in Luke’s direction.

“Of course, come here; I’ll show you.”

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

Mali pulled Luke by the hand into another shop and Luke reluctantly followed. The truth was; she was tired. It was barely 9am when Mali had ushered her out the front door and that was the fourth shop they have been into. Shopping was not really something Luke appreciated on a Saturday morning; she would rather stay in bed until late morning or until her mother would force her out of bed at lunchtime. Mali picked some dresses from the racks and made her way to the dressing room with Luke in tow. In all the shops they had been, Mali had tried everything she liked but she had not yet bought anything. Luke sighed; that was a déjà-vu scenario repeating itself.

“How does this look?” Mali asked as she emerged, wearing a bright yellow dress.

“Seriously? You look like a canary,” Luke laughed.

Mali sighed and disappeared behind the curtain again. Five dresses later, she showed up in a zebra printed tube dress. “What about this one? You haven’t liked anything I’ve tried yet.”

“I don’t know... I'm probably not the right person to ask,” Luke said with a small smile. “Why do you even need a dress?”

“I need a proper dress to attend a charity ball with your mom,” Mali smiled.

“Mali, there’s still tons of time for that,” Luke sighed; since her mom told Mali about it earlier that week that was all Mali had been talking about.

“I know but I always like advance planning; it keeps you healthy,” Mali insisted with a smile.

“Fine, whatever you say,” Luke exhaled in defeat.

“Just a last one, ok?”

Luke nodded and waited again. Mali pulled the curtain, revealing the dress she was in; it was a nice pastel pink gown with a corseted bodice, adorned with beads, and a ruffle skirt that cascaded to her ankles.

“Not my type of thing but you look gorgeous,” Luke smiled.

“I'm taking it; it even matches with my nail varnish,” Mali grinned.

“Uh huh, I don’t think so,” Luke replied as she looked at the price tag.

“Damn, why is it so expensive?” Mali groaned and went on to put her own clothes on before walking to the racks to put the outfits back. “I’ll definitely come to get you, don’t worry,” Mali whispered as she put the dress away.

“Don’t you think it’s too extravagant to wear to a charity event?” Luke raised an eyebrow at Mali’s action.

“Well, I could always wear it for another occasion,” Mali blinked.

“Are we done here?” Luke asked impatiently.

“I’ve just got an outfit to take, and then we can go, ok?”

“As you wish.”

Thirty minutes later they were standing outside the shop, shopping bags in Mali’s hand. “Where do we go now?”

“To eat? I'm starving,” Luke complained.

“Ok but can we just go and get some shoes first? The shop is right here and I promise we’ll go eat afterward,” Mali looked at Luke with pleading eyes.

Luke nodded and again followed Mali who seemed to have her eyes already set on a pair of shoes; a pair of black strappy sandals with a 3.5 inch heel. “Who is that for?”

“My sister,” Mali smiled.

“You don’t have a sister,” Luke pointed out.

“Actually it’s for my mom.”

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen your mom wearing 4 inch heels,” Luke stated.

“There’s a first time for everything.” Mali smiled even wider. “Let’s go eat.”

They had barely settled at a table at Nandos when they heard a loud laugh coming from the entrance. Turning their heads, they noticed Ashton followed by Calum and Michael, making their way inside. Mali waved at her boyfriend and motioned for them to join in. Ashton dropped himself on the empty chair beside Mali and Calum sat beside him, leaving a spot free between Calum and Luke for Michael.

“Baby, if you don’t mind, can I have your seat?” Michael asked as he looked at Luke.

“Sure.” Luke smiled and shifted to the other chair. “Shall we order?”

“I’ll do it,” Ashton proposed, already getting to his feet.

“Why did you have to bring this monkey along?” Luke asked, motioning towards Calum with her head.

Calum slapped Luke’s arm, “Luke, Michael’s my best friend. So, anything you say is irrelevant.”

“She’s a girl and her name is Lucy,” Mali huffed at her brother.

“Babe, you’re wasting your time,” Michael stated as he rubbed Mali’s arm. “I’ve tried countless time but he’s not ready to listen. Besides, why would he when she’s hell bent on proving she’s a boy?”

Halfway through her burger, Luke looked up to see Michael and Mali whispering to each other and laughing. Ashton was busy devouring his chicken while Calum was playing on his phone. “You guys are so boring,” Luke mumbled but it seemed like no one heard her.

“What’s wrong?” Calum asked, looking up from his phone.

“How can you all be busy doing your own stuff when we’re all sitting at the same table?”

“Jealous your girlfriend’s paying more attention to Michael?”

“Don’t start again,” Luke warned. “For the 500th times, Mali is not my girlfriend.”

“I seriously don’t remember the other 499th times you’ve said that,” Calum raised an eyebrow.

Luke sighed. “That’s a figure of speech; never thought you were dumb to that extent.”

Calum took a chip between his fingers and threw it at Luke’s hair. “I'm not dumb.”

“You wanna play that game; well two can play at that.” Luke grabbed the chip and tossed it back at Calum before rubbing some ketchup along his arm and laughing.

“Guys, you’re spoiling my appetite.” Ashton took his plate of Peri-Peri chicken and shifted to another table. “I'm taking this ‘cause it doesn’t look like you’re eating it.” On that, Ashton also took Calum’s plate of chips and half-eaten burger, leaving Calum to look at him with shocked eyes.

“I didn’t even finish eating,” Calum complained.

“You asked for it,” Luke smiled.

“I'm still hungry,” Calum whined.

“Poor baby... I’ve enough food for both of us. Come on,” Luke got up and gathered her stuffs.

“Where’re we going?”

“Don’t you see we’re unimportant here?” Luke looked at Michael and Mali who were lost in their own little world before moving to a free table with Calum.

“That’s really sweet of you, you know, sharing your food with me,” Calum grinned, seating himself on the chair adjacent to hers.

“It feels really weird to hear you complimenting me,” Luke said as she pushed her plate towards the older boy, who eagerly put a chip in his mouth.

“Well, you could’ve said ‘thank you’,” Calum looked at Luke expectantly.

“Thanks Sweetheart,” Luke chuckled. “Congrats for winning that music thing you guys participated at school.”

“What? That was like 4 days ago,” Calum shrugged.

“In case your memory is failing you, let me remind you that this is the first time we’re meeting in a week. I'm proud of Michael and Ashton.”

“Hello? I'm part of the team too.”

“I know but at least they know how to appreciate best wishes, unlike someone I know.”

Calum sighed, “Thank you Luke.”

“Mali’s pretty confident that you guys were gonna win this competition,” Luke stated as she finished her meal and reached for her drink but her hand accidentally hit the glass; spilling the coke on the table and on her t-shirt. She turned her head to the side to find Calum laughing at her misfortune and groaned as the cool liquid made contact with the skin of her stomach.

“Let me help you,” Calum offered through his laughter, grabbing a few napkins and handing them to Luke.

Luke gratefully accepted the towels and wiped at her shirt while Calum grabbed a few more and wiped at the table. Luke groaned at the stain on her white shirt and sighed; there was no way she would walk around in that shirt.

“Give me your hoodie,” Luke asked, eyeing the grey hoodie that Calum sported.

“Why?”

“Just give it, please.”

Calum sipped at his coke as Luke disappeared into the bathroom and smiled as he watched his other friends; Ashton had ordered himself some dessert while Michael and Mali were still acting all coupley, their salad almost forgotten.

“My clothes look good on you,” Calum said when Luke showed up in his hoodie and her t-shirt in her hand.

“Maybe I make your clothes look good. Besides, your hoodie stinks but I’ll have to deal with it.”

Calum grabbed Luke’s wrist and pulled her down on the seat next to him, moving closer to the blonde girl. “It doesn’t even smell.”

“That’s because you’re so used to that smell; you smell like that too,” Luke chuckled.

“How’d you know?”

“I just know,” Luke shrugged and took the glass from Calum’s hand.

“Sorry for the interruption but I gotta go,” Ashton quickly said and waved at them before rushing out the door.

“You’re acting totally gay right now?” Luke stated, snickering behind her hand.

“What?” Calum almost spat his coke.

“I mean... you say that I'm a boy and then you’re almost all over me right now,” Luke laughed.

“Really? But you said you’re not into girls, prove it,” Calum raised an eyebrow defiantly.

“I don’t have to prove anything,” Luke huffed.

“You’re too much of a chicken,” Calum chuckled.

“I'm not,” Luke reached over and pinched Calum’s side.

“Michael? If you two are done, can we head home? Ashton’s gone already,” Calum stated as he tossed his phone from hand to hand.

Michael looked at Mali, whispering something into her ear and then turning his attention back to Calum. “Mali and I are going to spend some time together. Can you drop Lucy home, please?”

“Yeah, see you later.”

Luke took the shopping bags from Mali and waited for Calum so that they could leave.

“Ok but don’t kill each other on the way,” Michael joked and linked his fingers with Mali’s as they walked out of Nandos. “Where do you wanna go?”

“I don’t know... it doesn’t matter where we’re as long as I'm with you,” Mali pressed a kiss to Michael’s lips. “What do you wanna do?”

“Well I can think of a few things,” Michael winked.

“I like what you have in mind,” Mali giggled. “Shall we go home then?”

“Mine or yours?”

“Yours; where’s your car?”

“Actually... I came with Calum. I guess we’ll have to catch a bus.”

“OK but the next bus is not before thirty minutes,” Mali stated.

“In that case, we’ll walk around a bit first then we’ll head home.”

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

The moment Calum and Luke left the restaurant; Calum flung an arm around Luke’s shoulder, trying to peek into the bags that the girl was carrying.

“Lemme see what’s in those,” Calum said and tried to pull the bags out of her hand.

“Shoo! Stop it, they’re not mine.”

“Why do you have to carry her bags?”

“Because she’s going to romance with Mikey and the bags will get in the way.”

“But they’re getting in our way,” Calum smirked.

“If you’re so concerned, you carry them. They’re your sister’s anyway."

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Shall we go home?”

“Ok,” Calum nodded as they walked in the direction of the parking lot. “Mali’s just using you to do her things while she wanders around with your brother.”

“That’s not true and even if it were, why does it bother you?”

“I don’t like when people use you.”

“Why?” Luke turned to Calum with a raised eyebrow.

“I just don’t,” Calum shrugged and opened the door for Luke.

Luke made herself comfortable in the passenger seat and threw the bags in the back, turning on the stereo. “I'm still hungry.”

“Drive-through?”

After getting themselves more food, Calum stopped the car at a nearby park and led Luke to the shade of a huge tree where they seated themselves on the grass. They shared a few smiles as they enjoyed their meal in the quietness of the park, with a few birds humming in the background.

“You still didn’t prove your point,” Calum licked his lips and wiped at his mouth with a napkin.

“Don’t try my patience, Hood.”

“Stop making a scene. I'm just asking you to do one simple thing to prove yourself,” Calum threw his hands in the air.

“Alright,” Luke smirked.

Luke leaned forward and attached her mouth to Calum’s neck, instantly sucking on the warm skin. The sucking turned into biting as Luke hungrily devoured Calum’s flesh, only pulling away when she was satisfied.

“Looks pretty,” Luke chuckled as she looked at the deep red bruise.

“What was that for?” Calum asked as he rubbed his abused skin.

“What was what for?”

“I can’t believe you sucked on my neck in broad daylight, in the middle of the park.”

“You were asking for it.”

“You won’t get away with that,” Calum wriggled his eyebrows.

“Ha! I bet you can’t top that.”

“We’ll see,” Calum said and held the zipper of Luke’s hoodie between his fingers.

“What are you doing?”

“You don’t wanna show me what’s in the bags but you can show me what’s inside the hoodie; it’s all yours.”

Calum pulled the zipper from her collarbone to her sternum but before he could move it further down, Luke held his hand. Looking straight in her eyes, Calum pushed the thick material aside and connected his mouth to the skin just above her heart. He bit down hard, earning a yelp from Luke before licking the spot a few times and sucking on it. Placing a kiss there when he was done, Calum pulled away and smiled at Luke.

“How am I gonna explain this?” Luke looked at Calum with wide eyes.

“No one will see it, it’s well hidden,” Calum smiled as he pulled the zipper back up.

“I think we should go before we find more points to prove.”

“Yeah.”

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

As soon as they reached his house, Michael attacked Mali lips with his own, not caring to open the door and get inside. Mali snaked her hand to Michael ass and further down, reaching into his back pocket to retrieve the keys.

“Let’s get inside,” Mali breathed. “Don’t want to make the neighbours jealous.”

Michael pulled the keys from her hand and clumsily tried to unlock the white wooden door. Once inside, they wasted no time to reach Michael’s room. Michael pushed her on the bed and climbed on top of her, showering her with kisses. Mali slid her hand under Michael’s Metallica tee, feeling the heat coming from his skin. Michael moved his lips to her neck, leaving open-mouthed kisses there before biting and sucking. Pulling his shirt over his head, Michael proceeded to unbutton her crème-coloured blouse.

“Michael?” Karen called from the doorway. “Sorry... I didn’t know you had company.”

“Mo-omm? Can’t you knock?” Michael quickly got off the bed while Mali buttoned her shirt back, blushing crimson red.

“The door was open... so I thought you were alone. Where’s Luce?”

“She’s out with Calum,” Mali said as she regained her composure.

“I didn’t know she was dating Calum.”

Michael frowned. “She’s not dating Calum. We all went out together and then parted ways. She’s coming back with Calum. In fact she’d be here anytime soon.”

“They’d look cute together though,” Karen smiled to herself.

“Mo-om,” Michael groaned.

“Anyways, I wanted to ask you if you can help me move the cabinet in my room.”

“Yeah... sure.”

“I'm not in a rush; take your time. I’ll be in the kitchen, call me when you’re done, ok?” On that, Karen closed the door behind her.

Michael looked at Mali and took a seat beside her on the bed; his mom’s intrusion had totally killed the good mood he was in. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Probably spending some time with you,” Mali said running her index along Michael’s lower arm.

“Sorry... actually the boys decided to have a boys’ night out tonight,” Michael looked at her apologetically.

“That’s alright... maybe I’ll be going out with some friends. Where you going?”

“To that party everyone’s talking about.”

“That’s great. You should probably go and help your mom. I’ll go check if Lucy’s back; I have to talk to her about school stuffs and then I have to go get ready.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yep,” Mali pecked Michael’s lips before heading out his door, a smile on her lips; Michael was going out, that meant it was a great opportunity to put her plan into action.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Calum and Ashton walked to their table in a corner and set the drinks they had in each hands on the table before taking their seat. Ashton slid down on his chair and made himself comfortable, taking a sip of his beer.

The party in question was at a hip club and it was ticket exclusive. Luckily the dad of the girl Calum was seeing the previous week was one of the major sponsors and he managed to get three tickets from her, before dumping her.

“I'm gonna check the other side,” Ashton got up and motioned to the bar. “See you guys later.”

“You mean tomorrow?” Michael asked with a smile, knowing he would not see him for the rest of the night; that’s what always happened. Ashton always disappeared during their Boys Night Out and when asked about it, he always answered the same thing: that they were too busy to notice him.

Ashton simply waved at them and disappeared through the crowd.

“Anyone caught your eyes yet?” Calum asked as he looked around the room.

“Nah, you?”

“Not yet; I wonder how Mali still puts up with you. I mean, I honestly think she knows that almost all of our Boys Night Out ends up with you fucking someone. Why is she still with you?”

“That’s because she loves me that much. She knows she’s my one and only priority,” Michael smiled.

“Is the seat beside you taken?” a girl with bleach blonde hair said with a wide smile on her face.

“No, not yet,” Michael replied with a grin.

“Mind if I sit here?”

“Make yourself comfortable,” Michael smirked.

Calum shook his head at the sight; he had seen this so many times before. He took a sip of his drink as he watched his best friend as the older boy animatedly talked to the girl, whom he had not bothered asking the name. Calum laid his eyes on a pretty brunette not far from their table and he was about to get up and walk to her but before he could do anything, a guy wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. Calum sighed when he turned back to Michael and blondie; he had an arm wrapped around her shoulder and he was slightly hovering over her.

“I'm gonna get myself another drink,” Calum said to no one in particular.

With another drink in hand, Calum sat on a free stool and leaned on his elbow against the bar, again scanning the room. His search ended when his eyes landed on a girl walking in his direction. He smiled at her and she stopped and looked at him for a couple of seconds before turning on her heels and walking in another direction. Calum down the rest of his drink in one large gulp and followed the girl.

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

Luke took a deep breath; walking as confidently as she could, as Mali lead her inside the venue.

“You go ahead; I need to use the bathroom,” Mali said, looking at Luke with pleading eyes.

“But we just got here...”

“I know but I'm sure my hair got messed up in the wind.”

“Mali, your hair’s fine.”

“I just have to make sure... I’ll see you at the bar?”

“Ok... come back fast,” Luke said, turning to leave.

Mali entered the bathroom and blinked a couple time to adjust her eyes to the bright light. Running a hand through her soft hair, Mali moved closer to the wide mirror and inspected her make-up. She pulled a tube of lip-gloss from the pocket of her shorts and coated her already glossy lips with the shimmery substance. Once she made sure she looked perfect, she made her way out of the bathroom and to the bar where she had asked Luke to wait for her. Mali walked further into the crowd but to her dismay, Luke was nowhere near the bar. She hoped Michael did not encounter her yet. After being bumped into and nearly losing her balance, Mali looked up and her eyes landed on Ashton who was standing in a corner, a glass in his hand.

“Hi Love,” Mali hailed when she reached him.

“Heeey,” Ashton grinned at the sound of Mali’s voice and his face lit up when he noticed her a few feet away. “What are you doing here? I thought you were out with your friends.”

Mali moved closer to him and placed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m here with them; what are you doing here all by yourself? Where are Calum and Michael?”

Ashton motioned to where Michael was sitting, Michael who was vigorously kissing a blonde. Calum was at the bar, turning his glass into his hand while waiting for some action. Ashton pulled Mali to a dark corner and kissed her fully on the lips.

“This is going to be a great night,” he whispered into her ear before kissing her again.

 

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

 

Luke decided to go to the bar where Mali had instructed her to wait. Having worn sneakers all her life, she hoped she was doing all right walking in heels that high. As she made her way through the crowd of people, she managed to catch the attention of a few people and even earned a few wolf whistles. Luke kept walking until she spotted a familiar mess of hair at the bar, its owner grinning at her. Feeling that her plan of not letting anyone she knew spot her in that attire failing, Luke made a 90 degrees turn, changing her destination and instead walked towards her right. When she was sure she was far from the bar, Luke stopped in a dimly lit and less crowded area of the room; she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey Beautiful,” a male voice said from behind her, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Luke flinched at the touch; Calum? Growing up with Calum, she had learned to recognise his hands anywhere and anytime.

“I saw the look you sent me back there,” Calum continued. Seeing she made no move, he spun her around, his eyes widening in shock. “Luke?”

“Hey Calum,” Luke tried to smile.

“You actually fooled me; I didn’t even recognise you,” Calum looked at her from head to toe.

“I look ridiculous right now,” Luke shifted from one foot to the other, feeling uneasy under Calum’s scrutinising eyes.

 

_**,’,’,’,’,’FLASHBACK,’,’,’,’,’** _

 

_Luke was sprawled on her bed, listening to her IPod, when Mali burst through the door. Her best friend closed the door behind her and made her way further into the room._

_“Michael’s going out tonight,” Mali announced as she dropped herself onto the bed._

_“So?” Luke slightly pushed herself off the bed and leaned on an elbow, looking at Mali._

_Mali eyed the shopping bags that were on the floor. “It’s Boys Night Out... maybe we can have our own Girls Night Out.”_

_“Where would you like to go? To the cinema?”_

_“To the club, there’s a party. Everyone has been talking about it for weeks.” Mali replied excitedly as she bounced on the mattress._

_“Yeah, I know but we can’t go there; we don’t have any tickets.”_

_“Well, that’s not really a problem,” Mali smiled as she pulled two colourful tickets from her handbag._

_“Where’d you get these?” Luke pulled them out of Mali hand and looked at them._

_“Well, I have a friend whose brother works there. She promised she would get me tickets if I promised to hang out with her next Friday. So...”_

_Luke walked to her closet, pulling out some clothes. “What am I gonna wear?”_

_“Nah nah nah nah nah... I’ve got this all figured out,” Mali pulled the clothes from Luke’s hands and stuffed them back into the closet._

_“Oh-kay...” Luke nodded, not quite reassured by the look on Mali face._

_“Wait! Is that Calum’s hoodie?” Mali asked, eyebrow raised as she tugged on the material covering Luke’s upper body._

_“Well... yeah...”_

_A grin appeared on Mali feature at Luke’s answer. “Ooh... naughty girl, what were you two up to?”_

_“It’s nothing like you’re thinking. I just dropped my drink on myself and Calum lent me his hoodie coz I couldn’t stay in a wet shirt.”_

_“You’re no fun,” Mali declared._

_“What? I can’t help it if you have a perverted imagination and an inappropriate vision of Calum and I,” Luke shrugged. “Back to the relevant conversations, what am I gonna wear?”_

_“Well...” Mali grabbed her shopping bag and pulled out an outfit, displaying it on the bed._

_“WHAT? Are you kidding me?” Luke asked, not believing what she was seeing._

_“Nah... What do you think?” Mali smiled._

_“No way... nuh huh... there’s no way I'm getting out of my bedroom door with this on... No wait... there’s no way on this earth I'm wearing this.”_

_“Don’t you wish to know what it’s like to be a girl for a day? Feel like one?”_

_“Well, I am a girl,” Luke stated._

_“But you don’t act like one,” Mali argued._

_“Never knew there was a standardised behaviour allocated to girls,” Luke rolled her eyes._

_“Come on, Lucy. Just this time; do it for me. I’ll never ask you for anything else in my life ever again if you do it,” Mali almost pleaded._

_“You’ve had it all planned since a long time, haven’t you?”_

_“Well I just bought the outfits and coincidentally, tonight seems like a good night to do it,” Mali smile. “So what do you think?”_

_Luke sighed. “Only because it’s you but you’ve got to promise me something,” Luke looked at Mali expectantly._

_“Anything you want.”_

_“This stays between you and me; not a word to anyone else,” Luke said, making sure her point was crystal clear._

_“My lips are sealed,” Mali made a zipping motion with her index and thumb. “Now that everything has been settled, let’s get started. First thing, let’s get your legs waxed.”_

_Luke looked at her with incredulity, like the other girl had suddenly grown another head. “My legs are waxed. Wearing pants all the time does not mean I have hairy legs.”_

_Mali smiled sheepishly. “Let’s move to your eyebrows then.” Mali pulled out some tweezers from her bag, moving closer to Luke._

_“Nah, I'm fine. I’ve heard people say that hurts,” Luke shook her head negatively._

_“I promise it doesn’t hurt,”_ much _Mali added mentally. Mali instructed Luke to sit in a chair and proceeded to pluck her eyebrow._

_“AAAAhhhhhhhhhh! BITCH!!! That hurts,” Luke yelled._

_Mali had to run after Luke, around her room for twenty minutes afterward to be able to get her eyebrows, hair and makeup done. Two hours later, Luke was standing in front of the full-length mirror, attached to the inner side of her closet door, looking at herself; she look like a stranger to her own eyes._

_“Why did I agree to this?” Luke whined._

_Mali pulled her boots on and looked at Luke who had assured her she did not need any help to wear her clothes. “What did you do?”_

_“What? What’s wrong?” Luke frowned._

_“Stop frowning, you’ll ruin your make up,” Mali warned. “Sports bra? Seriously?”_

_“There’s nothing wrong with sport bras; they’re comfy and I like them.”_

_“Yes but it’s kinda ruining the outfit,” Mali explained._

_“That’s the only kind I own.”_

_“Lucy,” Mali laughed. “You still don’t get it, do you? What you need is this one.”_

_“That’d be weird... I'm gonna feel naked,” Luke complained._

_“Grrrr, quit the drama and get it off.”_

_“What if I don’t? It’s not like anyone would notice anyways.”_

_“If you don’t do it now... then... then... I'm gonna call Calum and ask him to help you,” Mali grabbed her pink phone._

_“What? Do not talk about Calum at this point of the situation... that’s disturbing.”_

_“It’s now or never,” Mali warned when Luke made no move._

_“Fine... fine, you win,” Luke sighed in defeat._

_“Wait! What’s that? Is that... a hickey?” Mali eyed the purple bruise on Luke’s skin._

_Luke looked at where Mali was looking and adjusted the top, covering the mark with an embarrass expression playing on her features. “No... it’s nothing...”_

_“You can’t fool me girl. It’s Calum, isn’t it?”_

_“It’s nothing really, can we quit it?”_

_“It’s him; you were with him the whole time,” Mali smirked; there was no way Luke could deny it anymore._

_“So, what do you want me to do with these?” Luke pointed to her bra._

_“Nuh huh... don’t evade... what were you two up to?”_

_“Maliiiiiii...”_

_“Go on tell me,” Mali smiled excitedly._

_“It wasn’t Calum, ok?”_

_“Then, who? Do I know him?”_

_“Oh come on, it’s just a guy... nothing important... really...”_

_“I can see right through you. I know when you’re lying; you can’t look me in the eyes.”_

_“Can we talk about it later?”_

_“Fine,” Mali sighed. “You have five minutes to fix this; I'm waiting for you in the car.”_

 

**_,’,’,’,’,’END OF FLASHBACK,’,’,’,’,’_ **

 

“No, you look stunning,” Calum stated, unable to take his eyes off her.

Luke was dressed in a red halter-top that showed a major part of her back and black ruffled skirt that reached her mid-thighs. Not to mention that the top had a plunging neckline and the strap of a gold bikini bra could be seen at the back. The whole outfit was completed by the 3.5-inch black sandals that Mali had bought earlier that day. Her hair was loosely curled, her lips coated with a peach coloured gloss and her eyes dusted with a light shimmery gold shadow: just the strict minimum.

“Stop looking at me!” Luke playfully shoved Calum in the shoulder.

“Please allow me to quote Mali: Lucy, you’re a girl; for god’s sake, act like one,” Calum laughed and Luke joined in.

“She’ll probably kill you if she hears you,”

“Well... I guess this is the time where I should ask you if I could buy you a drink. Can I?”

“Yeah, I do need one badly.”

Calum offered her a hand as he stepped beside her, to guide her. Luke looked at the hand in front of her and then Calum’s face; since that was Calum and Calum was always playing tricks on her, she decided to decline the offer. Calum exhaled and grabbed her hand anyway, leading the way to the bar that was on the other side.

“What’ll you have?” Calum seated himself on an empty stool next to Luke.

“Anything.”

Calum turned his attention to the girl behind the counter, immediately flashing a bright smile her way and Luke almost rolled her eyes when the barmaid sent him back a flirty smile.

“Can I buy you a drink?” a mysterious voice said from behind Luke.

She turned to look at the owner of the voice, a tall well-built guy with deep blue eyes grinning at her. He was gorgeous; she could not deny it. “Hi!”

“Can I?”

“Huh...” before Luke had the chance to answer, Calum interrupted her.

“Excuse me, she’s my date and I'm already getting her a drink. Now, if you could please excuse us...”

“What was that about?” Luke asked when the young man walked away disappointedly.

“What?”

“That was rude, like really mean,” Luke shook her head in disbelief.

“I...”

“And since when am I your date?”

Calum scrunched his face, thinking of an answer that would shut her up; winning against her always brought a satisfaction that no other thing could. “I’d rather you spend the night with me than with some random stranger. I'm sure Michael would agree with me on that.”

Luke poked her tongue at him before downing her drink at one go.

“Woh... take it easy.”

“Told you I need one,” Luke cringed as she felt the liquid burn down her throat.

Calum looked at the glass in his hand, a smile appearing on his lips as his mind drifted off.

“What are you smiling at?”

“It’d be nice though, you know? To have you as my date tonight?”

“Seriously?”

“Will You?”

“Nope... I’ll pass on that,” Luke shook her head.

Calum stuck his bottom lip out in disappointment, looking at her with puppy eyes. “Can I at least have a dance?”

“You dog, you know no one ever say no to you when you pull that face.”

“Is that a yes?” Calum beamed.

“Yeah,” Luke smiled and placed a kiss to Calum’s cheek.

Calum placed a hand on her lower back as he walked her to the dance floor. Stopping among the crowd, Calum moved to stand in front of her. Luke shifted from one leg to the other, an uneasy feeling rushing through her; wearing skirts were not her thing and dancing in them made her feel awkward. Taking a deep breath to boost her confidence, Luke slightly swung her hips from side to side while Calum did the same, a few inches away from her.

Noticing there was at least 1.5 foot between them; Calum pulled her close to him by the waist, nearly crashing her against his chest. “Like this,” Calum whispered into her ear but did not fail to feel her tense due to the proximity. “Relax, just feel the music.”

The minimal space between them made it impossible to avoid the occasional bumping of their hips. Luke moved her hands up Calum’s chest and wrapped them around Calum’s neck, reducing the distance even more. In turn, Calum enclosed his arms around her waist, both of them keeping up to the beat of the song being played. Calum’s hands slid lower and now rested on Luke’s ass. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes seemed to last forever, as the two were completely lost in a world of their own. Instinctively, Calum squeezed Luke’s ass and instantly regretted it as Luke pushed his hands away. Had he gone too far and crossed a line? Calum did not have to wait long to get the answers to the question racing through his mind.

Luke did not know why she did it; was it because of the smoke-filled room and flashing lights or because of the warmth coming from Calum’s body? There was no valid answer but Luke did something she would not normally do in her proper senses. She spun around and rolled her ass against Calum’s groin. Pressing her back to Calum’s chest, Luke reached backward and wrapped her right arm around Calum’s head, causing Calum to enclose his arm around her waist. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, swaying to the rhythm of the music.

Calum closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. The first minute was alright but after being in that position for so long, things were getting unbearable for Calum. He had to get out of there before he did something he would regret later, something they would both regret; he was not going to mess up with their friendship, not for anything in the world.

“Hey, you wanna get out of here?” Calum whispered into Luke’s ear.

Luke squinted at her watch; it had only been an hour since she had been there but she was not going to refuse such an offer. She was tired and her legs could barely hold her straight; all she needed was her bed. Luke nodded positively in Calum’s direction and the older boy wasted no time to usher them out of the venue and into the empty street. Upon seeing her shiver in the cool night breeze, being the gentleman he was, Calum offered her his leather jacket, which she gladly accepted.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

Luke looked up, startled, when the car came to a stop; that was not her street. She sighed and got out of the car when Calum opened the door for her, it looked like she would have to walk back home. She should have seen it all coming; after being so nice to her, she should have guess he would be up to some kind of prank. Turning to leave, Luke felt Calum grab her hand.

“Where’re you going?”

“Home?”

Calum shook his head. “Don’t you wanna go inside?”

Luke looked straight at Calum; that was why Calum wanted to get out of the club, because he wanted her in his bed.

Sensing what she was thinking, Calum spoke again. “We’ll just hang out for a bit. Don’t worry, I’ll drop you home safely later, I promise.”

Luke nodded and stepped inside, preceding Calum up the stairs and gracefully missing the last step. Luke let out a laugh when she stumbled forward. “I'm so clumsy when I'm drunk.”

“Shhh... my parents are sleeping,” Calum whispered as he pressed his palm to her mouth, muffling her laugh. “And you only had three drinks.”

Luke stopped laughing and opened the door to Calum’s room, stepping inside, shrugging Calum’s jacket off her shoulders and carelessly throwing it on the desk. Calum leaned against the closed door and smiled at the scene displayed in front of him; instead of sitting and removing her shoes, Luke had preferred to balance herself on one leg while struggling to undo the strap of her sandal. Luke was in his room looking sexy and all Calum did was look at his feet; not that he had planned on doing anything, but Calum knew if he did not steal a kiss from her before the end of the night, he would regret not doing it all his life. Jumping on the bed, Luke rested her back against the headboard, pulling a pillow in her lap as she stretched her legs in front of her.

“Those were killing me.”

Calum sat on the edge of the bed and pulled Luke’s feet in his lap, looking at the sore skin. “Looks like the shoes didn’t like you.”

“Pfff... I don’t like them back.”

“I never thought I’d see you in these kinds of clothes. Why such a sudden change?” Calum asked as his thumb moved in small circular motions at the sole of Luke’s feet.

“All Mali’s doings; this is the first and last time I'm wearing a skirt.” Luke sighed when Calum pressed a particularly tense spot at her ankle. “You’re so good at this, keep going.”

“I’ll have to stop at a point,” Calum stated the obvious and stilled his hands.

“Don’t stopppp!” Luke whined.

“Desperate much, are we?”

“You have no idea. I’d give anything for you to keep doing that forever,” Luke hummed happily.

“Forever? Won’t you get bored of my face?” Calum questioned.

Luke threw the pillow that she was holding at his face. “I don’t need your face, I need your hands.” Only after the words had left her lips, Luke realised what she had said and turned her head to the carpet.

That was not something Calum had expected to hear but then again, after that night, he did not know what to expect from Luke anymore. One of Calum’s hands had resumed its task and it was past Luke’s ankle at that moment, never stopping to trail up Luke’s leg. Calum stared at the hand that seemed to be working on its own accord.

As soon as Calum’s hand reached her knee, Luke pulled her legs and folded them under her, somehow managing to keep her skirt in place. Calum moved closer to her before taking her left hand in his. Instantly, Luke pressed her free hand to Calum’s chest as he leaned forward, her initial plan was to push him away but the hand stayed motionless as his lips lightly brushed against hers. The hand that seemed to be rebelling against her brain, moved to wrap itself around Calum’s neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss.

Calum tugged at her legs, causing her whole body to slide downward before climbing on top of her, his palms pressed against the mattress on both sides of her head. Luke rested a hand on his upper arm as they stared into each other’s eyes, neither knowing what to do next. They had been in that position countless times before but never had they felt what they were feeling at that particular moment. It was the first time in his life that Calum was looking at Luke for the girl that she was and he could not help but realise how beautiful she really was; he was mesmerised. Calum shifted and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers, never breaking the eye contact. With her arms around Calum’s neck, Luke lowered Calum to her and connected their lips again.

Their lips moved slowly and sensually in unison, the two taking their time to savour each other. Calum’s tongue darted out and he lightly licked at Luke’s bottom lip before pulling it between his teeth and sucking on it. Luke closed her eyes and buried her fingers through Calum hair as he left a series of kisses from her mouth to her collarbone. The brunette nibbled on her soft skin as she slid a hand under his plaid shirt, her fingers caressing up and down his back. Calum pulled away and looked at Luke who was lying on his bed, her eyes closed, wet lips slightly parted and her blonde hair fanned out on the pillow, creating a contrast against the navy blue pillowcase. Luke opened her eyes and shifted on the mattress so that she was kneeling right in front of Calum, her eyes studying Calum’s expression. Calum arched an eyebrow; did he go too far?

“Luke... I... I'm sor-“

“Shhh...” Luke pressed her index to Calum’s lips and cut him off.

The finger lingered there for a few seconds but then trailed to Calum’s chin then down his neck and to the first button of his red button down shirt. Biting the side of her lower lip, Luke toyed with the button before popping it open and moving to the next one, until all of them were undone. With her palms pressed against Calum’s chest, Luke moved them upward and slid the cotton material off Calum’s shoulder, tossing it aside. Luke stared at Calum’s toned chest; a chest that she had seen thousand times before but never once had she found it attractive. Then she let her eyes rest on Calum’s arms; the arms that had wrapped themselves around her so many times, in so many ways but never in a way that made her feel the way she was feeling at that moment. Running a hand up Calum’s biceps, Luke pressed a kiss to Calum’s shoulder.

Luke took hold of Calum’s hands, which were hanging loose by the boy’s side, and placed them both on her hips. Although Calum had a very active sex life, he felt awkward putting his hands on Luke. Not because he did not find her beautiful but because Luke was not one whom he would ever use to satisfy his urges and toss aside when he was done. He could not do that, not to Luke, his best friend’s sister. However, when his hand met the sliver of warm skin peeking out between her top and skirt, Calum’s sanity ran out of the window at the speed of light. He crashed their lips together and one of his hands moved to her back while the other cupped her ass and brought their hips together.

Luke gasped and clung onto Calum’s shoulder for support as the boy thrust his hips against hers roughly. Calum pulled open the knot at her lower back and then the one at the back of her neck, watching her red top fall between them. He then unzipped her skirt and threw it to the floor. Slowly, Calum loosened the gold bikini bra and dropped it beside the bed. Luke got off the bed and motioned for Calum to come over. Once Calum was sitting on the edge of the bed, his feet on the carpet, Luke dropped to her knee and unzipped his pants, grateful that the fact that Calum was not wearing a belt saved them some times. The jeans and boxers were separated from Calum’s lower body in no time and Calum found his lap being invaded by Luke’s body.

Luke entwined her fingers at the back of Calum’s neck and slightly rocked her hips against Calum’s naked one. Calum swore under his breath and decided to skip foreplay and get to the most important part; his body was begging for it. Calum threw Luke onto the bed and knelt between her legs; peeling the red thong from her hips and down her legs. Luke looked at Calum through her lashes while biting her lips; impatiently waiting for Calum’s next move. With eyes locked with hers, Calum ran a hand between her breasts, along her flat stomach and then caressed the skin of her inner tights. He pulled a condom from his drawer and handed it to Luke who rolled it down Calum’s length. Pushing her legs apart, Calum guided himself inside her and looked at her to confirm if she wanted it too. Luke let out a loud moan at the feel and squeezed her eyes shut.

Calum stilled himself and glanced at the door before turning his attention back to her; his parents were asleep in the room down the corridor and if they did not keep the noises down, his parents would definitely wake up. So, Calum leaned forward and pressed his lips to Luke’s, muffling her moans. It was an action that served its purposes really well; shutting her up while getting another taste of her. Calum rocked his hips and was glad that each and every one of his thrusts were met by Luke who rotated her hips too against his. Luke locked her ankles around Calum’s waist and pulled him closer. Calum kept his movements slow and steady; the need to accelerate was absent. Unlike any other time, Calum did not want it to end fast; on the contrary, he wanted to take his time and end it the way it started, which was slow and passionate.

Surely, something was wrong with him but he would ponder about that later. He wanted to savour the moment he had, make the most out of it. Placing his mouth to her neck, Calum sucked at a spot just above her collarbone. Luke laced her fingers through Calum’s messy hair and pulled him away from her neck, instead, guiding his mouth to her eager ones, moving their lips together. In the quietness of the night, the only thing that could be heard in the room were short uneven breaths and occasional gasps escaping their lips as their hands danced over each other’s body.

“Faster,” Luke panted when their lips parted.

Calum shook his head negatively and rather than complying, he cupped one of her breasts and squeezed it before rubbing the nipple with his thumb. Luke threw her head backward on the pillow and breathed in quickly through her slightly opened mouth. True to his words, Calum was still thrusting into Luke at the same speed when they orgasmed, one after the other. Calum waited a bit before pulling out of Luke and discarding the condom. He wiped at the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead, with his thumb and looked at her dishevelled form. Settling beside her, Calum pushed the hair that were sticking to her forehead away and wrapped an arm around her slender waist, pulling her close as a silence settled between them.

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

Luke opened her eyes in an unfamiliar room, blinking a few times to make out where she was. Scrambling for her phone in the dimly lit room, she realised it was 04:20am; a very ungodly hour to be awake and Luke decided to go back to sleep and go home in the morning. Luke closed her eyes and turned to her right, immediately opening them when she bumped into a warm body. She shot up into a sitting position, looking at her naked body then at Calum, all thoughts of the previous night coming back to her.

“Fuck! What have I done?”

Luke pulled the sheet over her chest and looked around the room; she scrunched her face in disgust at the sight of her clothes scattered on the floor. Sighing, Luke shook her head at the messed up situation. She felt stupid. She never should have accepted Calum’s offer when he had invited her in. She never should have left the club with Calum. She never should have gone to that club. She never should have given in to Mali’s stubbornness in the first place. All those happened because of those damned clothes. If she had never worn them, Calum would never have looked at her differently; none of that would have happened. She would still have been a boy in Calum’s eyes. Their relationship would never be the same again; they would never be able to mess around with each other without that awkward moment creeping in. Luke felt like throwing up; she had to get out of there.

Luke opened Calum’s closet and scanned the clothes, opting for a particular hoodie that she had always liked ever since Calum had bought it and a pair of track pants. Pulling them on, Luke spare a last glance at Calum’s sleeping figure and exited the room, as quietly as she could; it was best to sneak out while everyone was sleeping because that would save her from questions she did not want to answer. Luke wrapped her arm around herself and hissed as the chill morning breeze kissed her cheek and her bare feet made contact with the cold sidewalk. She was glad Calum lived only two streets away from her house; thus, making the trip a short one. Luke pushed the door slightly, trying not to make noise but the door creaked as she pushed it open and walked into the dimly lit room. She looked around and tiptoed to the stairs.

“Lucy?”

Luke stopped dead in her track and spun to her left, spotting Karen in the kitchen. “Mom?” Luke smiled nervously.

“Where’re you coming from?” Karen asked as she walked out of the kitchen with a glass of juice. “Where are your shoes?”

“Huh... outside... I needed some fresh air,” Luke smiled convincingly. “Why are you up already? It’s like 4am.”

“Oh, like I always say, early mornings are best for my yoga practices,” Karen smiled.

Luke’s mouth formed an ‘o’ but no sound came out. Thanks to her mom and her yoga practices, her plan of coming back unnoticed failed.

“Are these Calum’s clothes?” Karen sipped at her drink and moved closer to her.

“Nah... they’re mine... I better go get some more sleep,” Luke yawned.

“Ok,” Karen nodded, although she was certain those clothes belonged to Calum; that boy spent so much time at her house, he was like another of her offspring.

Luke ran up the stairs before her mom could say anything else and dropped herself on the bed. Closing her eyes, Luke waited for sleep to wash over her because as her mom always say, _‘sleeping helps your mind relax’_ and at that moment, stuffs were going crazy in her mind. When tossing and turning for ten minutes lead to nothing, Luke got up.

“Fuck! This is stupid... how can I sleep if I'm not relaxed? It must be these clothes,” Luke looked down at herself and made a face. Walking to her closet, she stripped off Calum’s clothes and pulled on a fresh pair of pyjamas. It must definitely have been the clothes because she suddenly felt better in her own clothes. Climbing onto the bed once more, Luke pulled the cover over her head and closed her eyes again.

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

Calum yawned as he stretched his arms, a look at the clock told him it was still mid-morning and he realised the bright light in his room was from the sun since he had forgotten to close the curtain the night before. It was early; that meant he would be able to lie in bed for about an hour more before getting up. It was not until something red, lying on floor by his desk, caught his eyes that Calum propped himself on an elbow to look at the object, that was clearly not his. The events of the previous night came rushing through his mind and Calum slightly lifted the sheet off his body to check if he was naked or it was all a dream. He turned to look at the other side of his bed, realising it was empty.

“Luke,” Calum whispered as he looked around his room; there was no sign of her but her clothes were there, that meant she was still around somewhere.

He got up and walked to the bathroom attached to his room, peaking inside to see if she was there. Frowning, Calum pulled on a clean pair of underwear, some jeans and a t-shirt then proceeded downstairs to find Luke, only to realise that she was nowhere. Grabbing his phone, the brunette quickly dialled Luke’s number and waited as he got through. Three calls later and no answer from her, Calum opted for a text, which did not change anything because she did not reply.

“Mom, did you see my hoodie, my favourite blue one?” Calum popped his head through the archway and looked at her mom who was busy at the kitchen counter.

“It’s in your closet,” Joy replied, turning to look at him as she wiped her hands in a napkin.

“No, it’s not there, I’ve already looked.”

“I kept it there only yesterday,” Joy smiled. “What do you want me to make you for breakfast?”

“Nothing, I'm gonna go to the store coz I'm running out of shampoo and then meet Michael.”

“Do you need money?”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll see you later,” Calum leaned down, placed a kiss to his mother’s cheek and set off.

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

“Hey, what’s up mate?” Calum asked as he entered the living room, and saw Michael with a bowl of popcorn.

“Hey... where’s Ashton?” Michael smiled.

“He won’t be here before another hour. Where’s Luke?” Calum asked as he again glanced in the direction of the stairs.

“She’s not here, went out with my cousin, shopping or something. She’s been kinda grumpy since the morning, snapping at everyone. I swear something’s wrong; I’ve never seen her like that before but she wouldn’t tell me anything,” Michael shook his head.

“Hmm,” Calum nodded.

“Good thing you came after she left ‘cause knowing you two, being like cats and dogs, she’d have definitely rip you apart,” Michael laughed.

“She’d never do that,” Calum frowned; surely, she did like him a little bit or was he wrong?

“What makes you say that?” Michael chuckled.

“Then she won’t have anyone to harass.”

“That’s true,” Michael laughed but quickly pressed a hand to lips when he noticed Luke glaring at him. “When did you come back?”

“Hey Luke,” Calum smiled.

Luke let out a breath and left to her room.

“This is bad,” Calum mumbled.

“Told you so,” Michael exhaled.

“What’s going on?” Ashton asked when he noticed the look on their faces.

“Nothing, just Luke throwing a fit. Did you bring the games I asked you?”

“Yeah, there’re some really nice ones.”

Michael plugged the XBox and set the controllers on the coffee table. The three boys settled down as they decided on what to play. Calum sighed and rubbed a hand at his forehead as he tried to focus on the conversation instead of wondering why Luke was avoiding him.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Luke adjusted her bag on her shoulder as she walked beside Mali to the bus stand, listening to her praises of the new boy in their class.

“He has nice eyes, don’t you think?” Mali asked as she flicked her hair out of her eyes.

“Yeah he does,” Luke smiled. “But I think he’s kinda arrogant. Have you seen the way he was walking in the corridor?”

“No, not arrogant; I’d say confidence is the key baby,” Mali stopped and looked at Luke.

Luke was about to shake her head but her eyes caught a way too familiar car on the other side of the road, with a very familiar individual leaning against it.

“You know what? I’ve got some researches to finish at the library. I’ll catch you later?”

“I can wait for you if you want,” Mali proposed.

“Nah, it’s alright. I’ll just catch a bus later.”

“I think I’ll just wait for you; we can go together when you’re done,” Mali insisted.

It would be difficult to get rid of Mali; that girl was stubborn and once she has gotten something on her mind, she always made sure things go her way.

“Huh... Michael wants to meet you anyway; you should not keep him waiting. Don’t worry about me.”

“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow or maybe tonight,” she said when a bus stopped in front of them.

Luke watched as Mali got into the bus and waved at her when it set off. When she was sure her best friend was out of sight, she crossed the road and walked to the figure, whom she knew was waiting for her.

“What are you doing here?” Luke asked when she reached the car.

“I came to meet you.”

Luke raised an eyebrow; Calum never went to meet her at school. “What for?”

“I’ve tried calling you on Sunday but you didn’t take my calls, you didn’t even answer my texts. I’ve tried again yesterday but you just won’t reply. Why are you ignoring me?”

“I’ve been busy,” Luke mumbled.

“Busy? Busy doing what? I’ve called at least fifty times.”

“Just... girl stuffs,” Luke shifted from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

Calum laughed at that statement.

“What’s so funny?” Luke asked, clearly annoyed.

“Nothing... can we talk?”

“Aren’t we already?”

“Can we go somewhere?” Calum asked as he opened the door to the passenger seat of his car.

“We can do the talking here. What do you want to talk about?”

“Lucy please?”

“Don’t call me like that... it’s weird.”

“Anything you want but get in the car, please?”

Luke sighed as she got into the car, realising for the first time in her life that she was surrounded by people who were each more stubborn than the other. The ride was a silent one, both waiting for the other to start talking because they did not know what to say or where to begin the conversation that they were both dreading. To their relief, the ride was short as Calum stopped at a nearby ice cream parlour.

“What can I get you?” Calum asked as he walked to the counter.

“An ice cream?”

Calum sighed; Luke could be so difficult sometimes. “Ok, find us a place to sit and I’ll get our orders.”

Luke seated herself at a table in the corner and stared out of the window. She knew what was going to happen once Calum joined her and honestly, she wanted to get out of there before that. Picking up her bag, Luke decided to leave. However, she only had time to take a few steps in the direction of the exit when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned around to see Calum looking at her and two ice creams rested on the table that she previously occupied.

“Sneaking out on me, huh?”

Luke walked back and took her seat, immediately reaching for a spoonful of soft and smooth dessert. Calum watched Luke as she focused all her attention on devouring her treat.

“So,” Calum leaned on his elbows, his eyes never leaving Luke.

“Why did you order an ice cream if you knew you weren’t gonna eat it? You just wasted an ice cream.”

“Hmm... about the other night...” Calum started but was cut off by Luke.

“Listen! Can we just forget about it?”

“You wanna forget about it?”

“It was a drunken mistake anyway. I don’t wanna mess up the relationship we’ve built over the years because of some stupid sex thing. You’re my good friend; I don’t want things to be weird between us.”

 _‘Stupid sex thing? That was how Luke saw things,’_ Calum thought to himself. “So, you wanna pretend like nothing happened between us on Saturday and go back to how things were before?” Calum asked, making sure he got Luke’s point right.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Ok, done; as long as you don’t ignore me again.”

“I could do that,” Luke smiled.

“Not that it means something, just so you know; I’ve had an incredible time on Saturday.”

“Yeah, me too but that’s irrelevant now.”

“We’re good then?” Calum laughed as he flicked some melted ice cream on her face.

“Caluuumm,” Luke whined, wiping her face and pulling the nearly melted ice cream from in front of Calum. “Can we go home now?” Luke asked, already gathering her stuffs.

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

Michael was trying to make himself a cheese sandwich when he heard the doorbell. It was probably Luke who had forgotten her keys again or was too lazy to find them in her bag. Placing the sandwich on a plate, Michael walked to the front door, unlocked it and made his way to the kitchen again. He heard the door open and before he knew it, someone jumped on his back, almost causing him to lose his balance.

“Hey baby,” Mali giggled as she placed loud kiss to Michael’s cheek, still holding onto his back.

“Mali?” Michael turned around to face his girlfriend as she jumped off his back.

“Were you expecting someone else?”

“Hmm... as a matter of fact yes, I was. I was expecting my... my other girlfriend,” Michael teased as he followed her into the living room.

“Other girlfriend? That’s great; it means I’ll get a chance to meet her as well.”

“How are you?” Michael asked, kissing her neck.

“Good but I think I'm totally failing the test we had today.”

“No, I'm sure you’ve done great. Lucy’s not back?”

“She’s stayed behind at the library to finish her researches.”

Michael nodded and pulled her close to him, instantly slipping his hand under her top.

“Michael... wait... not here. Your mom can walk in on us anytime,” Mali protested but could not help the gasp that escape her lips as Michael cupped her breast.

“Lucy’s at the library and mum won’t be back before 6. I guess we have the house to ourselves for a while,” Michael wriggled his eyebrows.

“I love when you think dirty.” Mali let herself fall backward on the couch and pulled Michael on top of her.

They closed the gap between them and Michael smiled when he tasted her strawberry lip-gloss. Their lips slowly moved together in an innocent kiss. Michael swiped his tongue across Mali’s bottom lip, urging her to open her mouth. He did not have to ask twice as Mali’s tongue met his halfway and they gently coaxed each other.

What started out as chaste, turned into something more heated and their hands roamed onto each other, trying to get as much contact as possible. Mali reached for the hem of Michael’s shirt and pulled it over his head, only momentarily breaking from the kiss. Mali’s top soon found its way to the floor and she moaned into Michael’s mouth as he squeezed her breast through her purple bra. Reaching behind her, Michael unhooked the lace bra and threw it aside, not caring when it landed on the coffee table. Michael trailed his kisses from her lips to her jaw then her collarbone and did not stop going downward until he reached one of her nipples, sucking on it as Mali massaged his scalp.

He pulled away and his mouth continued its journey, kissing her flat stomach. Lifting her skirt, Michael squeezed her ass and caressed her inner thighs as he laid wet kisses on the soft skin. Mali pulled him back up by the hair and connected their lips again as she undid his belt and slid a hand inside his boxers.

Luke laughed at the joke Calum had said but stopped abruptly when she caught sight of what was happening in her living room.

Calum turned his head in the direction of whatever she was seeing and instantly placed a hand over her eyes. “Too explicit for your eyes.”

Michael pulled away at the sound of Calum’s voice while Mali quickly wrapped her arms around her chest. “Why didn’t you knock?”

“Huh... I have the keys,” Luke wriggled the said key in front of them to prove her point.

“How come you’re together? I thought you stayed behind at the library,” Michael asked, his arm still around Mali’s naked waist.

“I met Calum outside,” Luke shrugged.

“Yeah, I came to meet you but... looks like you’re busy. We’ll leave you guys to continue your interrupted make-out session here while we go and make-out upstairs,” Calum smiled.

Luke turned to look at Calum; it seemed like all the talks they had, have all gone to waste.

“What?” Michael asked, eyebrow raised and teeth clenching.

“Chill mate, it was a joke,” Calum laughed.

“It better be,” Michael warned.

“Yeah... let’s go,” Calum took hold of Luke’s wrist and pulled her in the direction of the stairs but left her at the bottom of the staircase as he turned to the kitchen. “Gonna get myself a drink.”

Calum wandered into the kitchen and immediately got a glass and poured some juice from the fridge. He was about to walk away when he noticed a ready-made sandwich on the counter. Plate in one hand and glass in the other, Calum made his way to Luke’s room. Setting the glass on the nightstand, Calum dropped himself on the bed and took a bite of his sandwich as he watched Luke who was at her desk, writing something in her copybook before shaking her head and scratching it. Calum chuckled at the sight.

“Where did you get that?” Luke asked as she turned to look at him.

“T’was in the kitchen, neglected. I'm guessing Michael made it before Mali showed up and he never got the opportunity to eat.”

“Gimme a piece,” Luke got up, already making her way to the bed.

“No... get your own,” Calum protested.

“This is not even yours and I'm too tired to go down there, make a sandwich and come back here.”

“You’re not even supposed to be hungry; you just had an ice cream.”

“Well, I am... now gimme a piece,” Luke whined and pushed Calum’s hand away as he tried to take another bite.

“Stop it,” Calum warned.

“If I don’t get to eat, you don’t get to eat either,” Luke looked at Calum and pushed his hand away again.

“Quit being a baby.”

Luke gasped and stared at Calum. As the brunette was about to take his second bite into the sandwich, Luke leaned forward and bit at the opposite corner of the bread.

“Dich chou rely ha to-ooh dis?” Calum said, his mouth full.

“What?”

Calum swallowed before speaking again, “did you really have to do this?”

“I always get what I want and I have my own ways of getting it,” Luke shrugged.

Calum raised an eyebrow challengingly as he proceeded to eat again, not at all surprised when Luke repeated her action. Chewing slowly, Calum could not help but curse inwardly. Firstly, Luke freaked out because of what they did, she did not returned his calls or messages, then when he eventually met her, she told him to forget everything and finally she was there, looking sexy while eating his sandwich. Did she even have any idea of whatever it was she was doing or was it all unintentional? Luke looked at Calum’s hand and brought it to her lips, taking the last piece of bread while biting hard on Calum’s fingers.

“Ahhh,” Calum shouted as he shook his hand, trying to ease the pain.

“Shhh! Stop trying to catch unnecessary attention,” Luke whispered as she threw a pillow at Calum’s face.

“You’re such a bitch sometimes.”

Luke shrugged and laughed at that statement, knowing Calum did not mean a word of what he said.

A light knock on the door caused them to lift their head off what they were doing. “Hey! What are you two up to?” Michael asked as he walked into the room.

“School stuffs,” Luke replied as she turned the page of her book.

“Ok, I came to ask you if you wanted to hang out with us but looks like it’s gonna be just Mali and me,” Michael smiled.

“Yeah, maybe you guys can have a round 2,” Calum snickered.

“Shut up! I’ll be downstairs, if you need something, call me,” Michael took the plate and glass before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

“I bet he wanted to make sure we were not making-out like I told him we would,” Calum laughed.

“Shut up!”

Calum opened Luke’s laptop and double-clicked on a folder called Luke, going straight to her picture folder. When his eyes landed on a picture of her in her outfit of the previous Saturday, Calum quickly glanced at Luke, who had her head buried in her copybook, before sending the picture to himself; he would do anything to have a picture of her dressed like that. Once he was done, he opened another picture of her and that continued until he found himself looking at all the pictures in the folder. Luke closed her copybook and crawled onto the bed, sitting on her haunches behind Calum who was sitting on the edge of the bed, peeking over his shoulder to see what he was doing. Upon feeling her warm breath on his neck, Calum turned his head slightly to the side to look at her.

“What are you doing in my folder?” Luke asked.

“Nothing... just looking at pictures.”

“That’s enough,” Luke closed the lid and set the laptop aside. Lazily, she got up before walking to her desk and picking her book again.

“What are you reading?”

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

“Never thought you were Shakespearian type of girl. Wouldn’t you rather read Twilight or Harry Potter?”

“It’s for my English class otherwise I wouldn’t have read it at all,” Luke yawned and tried to focus on the act she was reading.

Calum let out a sighed, trying to catch Luke’s attention. 20 minutes had passed since she had her head buried in that book and he was bored. With a mischievous smile, Calum pulled on her hair.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Calum shrugged as he pulled out his phone. Once she turned her attention away, Calum again pulled on her hair.

Luke lunged forward and tackled Calum onto the mattress, climbing on top of him. “Do you have to be so annoying?”

“I like it better the other way,” Calum smiled and looked at her face that was only a few inches away.

“Shit.” Luke moved away and was about to get off him when Calum caught her wrist.

“Is this how it’s gonna be now? You’ll pull away whenever we’re play-fighting?”

“Sorry,” Luke mumbled as she bit her lower lip.

“Like I was saying, I like it better the other way.” On that, Calum easily rolled them over so that he was on top.

Luke turned her head to the side and closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath; she knew she was stronger than that and she could do it. “Calum...”

“There’s something I wanna see... can I?”

“What? Since when do you even ask me for permission for something?” Luke opened her eyes and looked into Calum’s brown ones.

Calum did not answer; he slightly pushed aside the collar of Luke’s shirt, revealing her collarbone and the dark purple bruise on her skin. “It’s really there.” Calum stared at the hickey he had left there a couple of days ago, running his thumb continuously over it.

“You knew it would.” Luke pushed Calum’s hand away and straightened her shirt.

“Did you show it to Michael?” Calum teased, knowing how Michael got when Luke was involved with a boy.

“No... But maybe I should... and probably tell him that it’s you,” Luke smirked. “I’d love to see him kick your ass.”

“What if I tell him you seduced me and made a helpless mess out of me and I had no choice but to give in? Imagine Michael’s face,” Calum laughed.

“What? I DID NOT SEDUCE YOU!” Luke exclaimed.

“You should date girls.” Calum ignored Luke and turned the conversation around.

“What? I’m not into girls,” Luke scoffed.

“Yeah but Michael clearly has a problem with you dating guys so...”

Luke frowned. “He doesn’t have a problem; he just doesn’t like to see me miserable and heartbroken. That’s all.”

“Always siding Michael, as usual... can’t you be on my side once?”

“Never, I’d never go against Michael for you, you don’t stand a chance.”

“I'm hurt...” Calum pouted.

Luke laughed and slapped his back. “Get off me now, you’re crushing me.”

Calum rolled them over so that Luke was on top of him again, straddling his hips. “Better?”

“Yeah, so much better.”

“So, tell me more about that secret life of yours,” Calum asked as he ran a hand up and down her thigh.

“Secret life? I don’t live a secret life.”

“Yeah, you do... I never thought I’d see you in a dress, what else don’t I know about you?”

“That’s all; otherwise you know everything about me. You can proudly say you’re the only one who knows about that dress thing... except for Mali since it was her idea.”

“Wow, I feel special,” Calum said, looking directly into her eyes and reaching behind her head to pull the elastic from her hair.

“I should probably get up otherwise...”

“Otherwise?”

“Otherwise I might want to kiss you...” Luke broke their eye contact and shifted, already moving off Calum.

However, Calum had other plans; he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down, crashing her against his chest. “Maybe I want you to...”

Luke bit her lip and leaned closer to Calum, brushing their lips slightly. Taking a deep breath, Luke pressed their lips together and tilted her head to the side and her lips moved against his in a slow kiss. They stayed like that for a moment, eyes closed, and lips moving lazily, until Luke pulled away and looked down at Calum.

“What happened?” Calum frowned.

“We really shouldn’t...”

Luke did not have the time to finish her sentence because she was silenced by Calum’s lips pressed against hers again. It was not heated or urgent, instead it was innocent and chaste but it felt nice. Eventually, they pulled away, looking into each other’s eyes. Biting her lips, Luke ran a hand up Calum’s chest and opened the first three buttons of his button-down shirt. Bending forward, she placed a kiss to Calum’s collarbone. A kiss that turned into biting and then sucking as one of her hand found its way to Calum’s hair.

“Oops, sorry, I didn’t know,” Karen smiled from the doorway, her hand still on the doorknob.

Luke quickly slid off Calum’s hips and settled on the mattress next to him, a dark red tint to her cheeks. “Mom, we weren’t...”

“I came to call you kids for dinner. Oh and Calum, your mom called. She said she tried to call you but you weren’t answering. I told her you’d be staying over for dinner.”

Calum reached for his pockets, trying to find in which one his phone was. “Where’s my phone?”

“It’s under the bed... I can see it from here,” Karen said, from her spot in the doorway. “We’re waiting for you, don’t take too long.” On that, she closed the door.

Calum picked his phone and noticed that he had seven missed calls from his mom. “Shall we?”

Luke nodded and tied her hair into a bun as she followed Calum to the door but grabbed his hand before he could open it. Walking to face him, Luke buttoned his shirt and fixed his hair. “Listen… huh… this shouldn’t have happened. We agreed about forgetting and moving on.”

“Yeah, yeah… it’s not happening again,” Calum sighed.

“Good. Now we’re ready to go.”

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

“Lucy, are you busy?” Karen asked as she poked her head through the door.

Lucy looked at the pile of clothes on her bed and then at the shirt that she had in hand before looking at her mom. “Yeah, of course not,” she smiled as she tossed the shirt on the bed; she would sort out her closet later.

“I was thinking that maybe we could go shopping together. It’s been so long since we did,” Karen smiled.

“That sounds awesome. Just give me a moment.”

“Ok, I’ll wait for you in the car. Don’t take too long.”

Luke stood in front of the mirror and stared at herself. She pulled her hair up in a bun at the top of her head and made a face, immediately pulling them free from the elastic that retained them. She then tied them up in a ponytail but shook her head negatively, opting to leave them open; Calum had told her he liked her hair better that way. Luke groaned at the thought of Calum. She was trying to forget something ever happened between them and doing what Calum liked was not going to help in any way. Sighing, she braided it on the side and grabbed the hat that was lying on her desk, placing it on top of her head. Luke smiled; that was more her. Taking her hoodie, she went to join her mother.

Luke drummed her fingers against her thigh as she looked out the window. Usually, a ride with her mom was pretty joyful, but that day, it was very quiet, until Karen talked.

“So, what’s going on?”

Luke turned to look at her mom. “Huh? What’s going on?”

“Between you and Calum?” the woman asked, not taking her eyes off the road.

Out of everything that Karen could have asked, that was the one she had chosen. Luke was not expecting that. “Nothing… nothing at all,” she replied, not sounding very confident.

“I saw you two together in your room, the other day, remember?”

“Hmm… that was nothing… we… we were just goofing around. That’s all.”

“Goofing around? You two were kissing.”

“Nooo…” Luke said in a small voice.

Karen raised an eyebrow at the girl and cleared her throat. “And do not lie to me, young lady.”

“Am not lying,” Luke muttered.

“Lucy, I won’t ask again,” Karen warned.

Luke glanced at her hands, trying to come up with an excuse; the least she wanted was to make her mom mad and cause her ground her. “It was a mistake, it won’t happen again.”

“Was that the first time?”

“Yes, like I told you, we were messing around when it happened. It was an accident.”

“Sweetie, you know how Michael feels about you being with his best friends. He won’t be very happy if ever…”

“Mooomm… I know but there really is nothing,” Luke folded her arms over her chest as she stared straight ahead.

“Are you sure?” Karen glanced at her.

“Positive,” Luke sighed.

“Ok, but Honey, promise me you’ll not do anything stupid. I don’t want to see you or Michael upset.”

Luke hesitated for a second; she already did something stupid. Crossing her fingers, she turned to her mom and smiled. “I promise.”

“Thanks,” Karen smiled back as she stopped the car.

“Can we eat first? I’m hungry,” Luke said while rubbing her tummy.

“Where do you put all those food? I wonder,” Karen laughed as they walked towards the entrance of the mall.

“Yeah, you’re right. I should work on losing some weight.”

Karen rolled her eyes. “Look at yourself, you’re far from being fat. Besides, girls only worry about their weight when they have somebody to impress.”

Luke laughed. “I don’t wanna impress anyone. I just want to be fit… and dresses look better on you when you have a good physique.”

It was Karen’s turn to laugh.

“What’s funny?”

“I don’t know. Dresses and you? That’s a new.”

“I meant clothes in general… not just… dresses.” Luke wanted to slap herself across the face; what was wrong with her?

The blonde woman stopped and looked into a shop’s window. “Talking about dresses, this is a good place to start shopping. We need to get you some good underwear. You’re growing up and really need to get rid of those sports bras.”

“There’s nothing wrong with them; they’re comfy.”

“But you’re turning into a woman now.”

The moment that sentence left Karen’s mouth, Luke burst out laughing. “You’re so hilarious. That’s like the best thing I’ve heard.”

“I’m serious,” Karen looked at her.

“Fine, just go and buy whatever you need. I’ll just look around.”

“Alright, don’t wander too far.”

“Yeah, mom, I’m not a baby.”

Before her mom could say anything else, Luke turned around and started walking, leaving the woman to shake her head. Luke was looking in the window of a jewellery shop when she caught Mali’s reflection. With a smile, she spun around to see her best friend talking and laughing with Ashton. Ashton? And the two of them were holding hands? What was going on? When Mali saw Luke walking in their direction, she quickly let go of Ashton’s hand and her smile disappeared.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Luke asked when she reached them.

“I met Ashton in a shop,” Mali said, trying to sound casual.

“Ok,” Luke nodded, eying the bags in Ashton’s hand.

“What about you? Are you here alone?”

“No, mom is in a lingerie shop.”

“Hmm… Michael?”

“He’s home, cleaning his room like mom asked him to but I’m sure he’s probably just sleeping, as usual,” Luke laughed.

“Lucy? Shall we go, Sweetie?” Karen called.

“Yeah. Ok, bye guys. See you later.” Luke waved at them before walking to her mom.

Three hours later, Luke groaned. She was exhausted; shopping with her mom was equally tiring as shopping with Mali. Plus, she was starving.

“Mom, I can’t walk anymore,” Luke whined.

“Alright let’s go home.”

“Actually, you go. I met Mali earlier and I’m gonna hang out with her for a bit.”

“I thought you were exhausted.”

“I am but…”

“But let’s go home.”

“Please mom…”

“You’re impossible.”

“Is that a yes?” Luke smiled brightly.

Karen sighed. “Alright, don’t be too late though.”

After shoving all her bags into the car, Luke made her way back inside. She stopped in front of a shop and wondered where her best friend could be. She sent her a quick text and waited for the reply.

_‘At your house with Michael’_

Luke instantly made a face as she walk back to the car park. She groaned when she realised her mom was gone. She felt stupid because any smart person would have made sure the other person was still there before sending their ride away. Sighing, she walked back inside; there were still time before the next bus.

“Hey, why the long face?”

Luke turned around to see Calum standing there with a bright smile on his face. “Hi…”

“Why such a dull ‘hi’? I don’t deserve that.”

“I told mom I’ll hang out with Mali but she already left and now mom’s gone too.”

“Hey, so what if Mali’s not here, her brother is and he’s so much more fun to hang out with than her.”

“No, he’s not. He’s mostly annoying.”

“Annoying?” Calum frowned.

“Yeah, he is,” Luke nodded.

“Well, good thing he’s not here then. We’re gonna have fun.”

“You’re so weird,” Luke smiled while shaking her head.

“At least I made you smile,” the boy shrugged. “So, did your mom say anything about us?”

“There is no us, Calum. And I promised her I’m not gonna do anything stupid.”

Calum hummed; that was going to be harder than he thought it would. “Ok.”

“So what brings you here?”

“I was stalking you,” Calum chuckled.

“What?”

“Luke, what do people do at the mall?”

“Shopping?”

“Exactly,” Calum stated, showing her the bags he had in one hand and held her hand with his other hand as they kept walking.

“Let go of my hand.”

“Why?” Calum asked and held her hand tighter as she tried to pull away.

“It’s weird.”

“You’re my friend, I’m your friend; I don’t see what’s weird in that,” the brunette shrugged.

“I guess,” Luke said, unsure. “You’re right,” she finally smiled; after all, even Mali and Ashton were holding hands and they were friends as well.

“So, where do you want to go?”

Anywhere without Calum sounded fine with her. “Home?”

“Pooper, you’re no fun at all,” Calum bumped shoulders with her.

“But I’m tired,” Luke stated.

“Really? Weren’t you going to meet Mali?”

“Yeah, but now I’m tired.”

“You’re just saying that because you know that you’re stuck here with me,” Calum said, with a hurt expression. “Since that night, all you ever do is run away from me.”

“No, I don’t and we agreed not to talk about it.”

“I know but you compel me to do so. I’ll stop talking about it when you stop acting like this.”

Luke sighed; she knew that Calum was stubborn but at that moment, he was being both stubborn and annoying. She stopped and stood in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders and looking at him in the eyes. “So, Calum, tell me what you wanna do?”

Calum raised an eyebrow; was that some kind of invitation? “You don’t wanna know what I wanna do,” Calum smirked.

“You’re just a jerk,” Luke scoffed and moved away from the brunette.

“What? I was only talking about kicking your arse.”

“Whatever. You’re still a jerk.”

“But you would still hang out with me,” Calum smiled.

“I don’t have much of a choice.”

“You always have a choice and you always choose to spend time with me.”

Luke rolled her eyes. “Wait here, I need to get something from this shop.”

Luke left Calum behind and entered the shop. Instantly, she made her way to the underwear section; she needed to get herself some sports bra. On their way to the car, her mom had told her that she had gotten her some really cute laced bras and Luke made a face at the thought. Laced bra and her? That was not a good combination.

“That’s a dull colour,” Calum said from behind.

Luke looked at the grey bra and then at Calum. “What are you doing here?”

“Helping you out?”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Wouldn’t rather buy something more girly?”

“Isn’t this girly? I don’t believe boys wear sports bras,” Luke rolled her eyes and kept looking.

“What I meant was something like satin or lace or whatever it is girls wear, normal girls.”

“Excuse me? I am normal.”

“Yeah? Come on,” Calum dragged her out of the shop and into another one.

“What are we doing here?” Luke asked as she walked into the same shop that she did not want to go in with her mom earlier.

“Shopping for undies. Come on, try something.”

“I don’t wear these.”

“Luke, there’s a first time for everything.”

“I don’t know.”

“I think this size will do,” Calum stated and placed a pink bra in front of her.

Luke swatted his hand away as an older woman looked at them and felt her cheeks heating up. “Stop.”

“Well, try it on,” Calum urged.

Sighing, Luke took the offered bra and walked to the changing room. She unwillingly slipped off her clothes and wore the pink bra that Calum had given her. She made a face as she looked at her reflection. Why was she even trying that? She again sighed and reached for the hook, which seemed to be stuck.

“Fuck, did this have to happen?” Luke cursed before poking her head out. “Calum?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you come in for a second?” she said and quickly disappeared inside again.

Calum looked at the closed curtain; did Luke just call him inside? No, he was probably dreaming.

“Are you coming or not?”

“Huh, okay,” Calum hesitated but went in nonetheless. “What happened?”

“This thing’s stuck. Help?”

Calum looked at the bra that she had on. “You look hot.”

“Please,” Luke rolled her eyes. “Can you just undo it already?”

Calum reached up and let his fingers graze her skin before reaching for the hook. Luke closed her eyes; they already were in a tight compartment and to add to it, Calum’s hands on her skin was so warm. Slowly, the brunette turned her around and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Luke opened her eyes and looked at him before whispering. “What are you doing?”

Luke was so close and if Calum inched his head slightly forward, he could kiss her but he did not want to do so without her wanting it too.

“Calum, the hook.”

The moment Calum unhooked it, Luke slipped it off and pulled on her clothes before rushing out of the shop.

“Hold on,” Calum called after her. “Don’t you wanna take it?”

“No, my mom just got me a bunch of cute laced bras, I don’t need an extra one.”

“Ooh la la… I would love to see you in them,” Calum teased.

“Fuck you!”

“My pleasure.”

“I’m going home.”

“Hold on, I was kidding. I’ll drop you. Come on.”

**O.O.O.O.O**

Mali quietly walked to Michael’s room while she stared at her feet. Somehow, she felt apprehensive about meeting her boyfriend, hoping Luke had not told him anything about meeting her with Ashton. She knew that Michael and Luke never kept any secrets from each other and that thought itself scared her even more.

“Michael?”

“Hey, Babe,” Michael smiled when he saw her in the doorway. “Why are you standing so far away? Come here.”

Mali walked to where Michael was sitting on the bed and smiled when Michael pulled her down and kissed her. “I thought you were cleaning.”

“Who told you that?”

“Lucy. I met her at the mall. Come on, let’s clean your room,” Mali got up and tugged on his hand.

Michael looked around the room. “I don’t see what’s to clean.”

Mali looked at the clothes that were hanging on the back of his chair and the other bundle that was in a corner. “You could start by keeping the clothes away.”

Smirking, Michael pulled her back down and pulled her top off.

“Michael, what are you doing?”

“Keeping the clothes away,” Michael grinned.

“Give me that back.”

“Nope.”

Sighing, Mali leant forward to get her shirt from Michael’s hand but Michael smiled as he kept it out of her reach. She turned to her bag when she heard her phone ring and quickly walked to it.

_‘where r u?’_

“Who is it?” Michael asked as he looked at her.

“Lucy…” Mali smiled and sent her a quick text before setting her phone on the nightstand. “Give me my shirt.”

“No… come and get it.”

“Fine, keep it,” Mali sighed and moved to the closet, from which she took a shirt that she slipped on.

“That’s cheating,” Michael scoffed.

“Get up and help me.”

“Yeah.”

Michael rested his head against his interlinked fingers as he lay on the bed and watched Mali shuffle around the room, picking up the dirty clothes and shoving them in the laundry basket.

**O.O.O.O.O**

“Michael? I know you’re in there,” Luke called as she again knocked on his door.

“Go away, Lucy.”

Without saying anything else, Luke walked back to her room. She knew something was wrong with Michael when he did not show up for dinner, even after she called him twice and her mom did once. Still, she was walking away because she knew sooner or later Michael would tell her about it. Michael sounded really upset when he had told her to go away and that was the first time she had heard his voice since she came back from the mall. Luke dropped herself on her bed and tried to think about something else other than Michael but she could not help it; whenever Michael was upset, she was too and it was the other way around too.

Suddenly, something crossed her mind. Did Michael find out about Calum? But she shook her head; that could not be. If Michael did find out, he would rather be angry than upset. He would scold her maybe but he would not lock himself in his room. Besides, who would have told him? Other than her, Calum was the only person who knew about it and Calum would not tell Michael. But Michael was Calum’s best friend, what if he had told him? Luke sighed; there were too many things going through her mind at that moment.

“Luce? Can I come in?”

Luke chuckled. “Since when do you ask?”

Michael closed the door and made his way to the bed, dropping himself beside her.

“What’s wrong?” Luke asked as she looked at him.

The older boy did not answer but only hugged her. Luke wasted no time to wrap her arms around him as well.

“Is it something I did?” Luke asked quietly.

“No…”

“Did somebody tell you something? Did mom scold you again?”

“No…”

“Are you not feeling fine?”

“No…”

“Is it… umm…” Luke hesitated before adding. “Calum?”

“No…”

“Did Mali say something?”

Michael stayed quiet and Luke instantly knew that Mali was involved. The two of them loved each other a lot but sometimes they just fought over unnecessary matters and it was becoming more and more frequent. And at that moment, it seemed very serious because she had never seen Michael like that before. Whatever it was, she was not going to ask Michael about it at the moment because it looked like what Michael needed was her company. She would ask him about it later. For now, she would just have to comfort her brother.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

“Mali? Mali, wait up!” Luke called as she ran after the other girl in the hallway. “Why do I feel like you’re avoiding me since the morning?” she asked when she reached the brunette.

“Because I am,” Mali retorted. “Leave me alone.”

“What’s wrong with you? Is everything alright?”

“Alright? How can you asked me that after messing everything up?”

Luke stopped and frowned; what was going on? Something that she did not know about had definitely happened because Mali had never spoken to her on that tone before; in fact, she had never heard the other girl talk to anyone on that tone. Luke marched up to her again and placed her hand on her shoulder.

“What happened? What did I do?”

“What happened? Michael dumped me is what happened. But why am I telling you this? You already know that, bitch.”

“What? Michael dumped you? But why?”

“How can you just stand there and ask me that question after doing everything?” Mali crossed her arms over her chest and looked straight at her.

Luke clenched her teeth and took a deep breath to calm herself. There she was, trying to find out what went wrong with her best friend and all she was doing was, accusing her of something she was not even aware of.

“Listen, I didn’t know Michael dumped you and whatever you’re saying I did, I didn’t do that. It’s just a misunderstanding.”

“Oh yeah, right. I’m not stupid. I know you’re the one who told Michael about Ashton.”

Ashton? Where did he come from now? “Wait, Ashton? What does Ashton have to do with all this?”

“I was happy with Michael but you had to go and ruin everything. Being Michael’s precious little sister, he would obviously listen to you and not to me.”

“This is so wrong. You’re unnecessarily blaming me.”

“You know what, just go to hell!”

Luke stood there, watching the other girl walk away from her. Michael had dumped her? Why would Michael do that? She thought they were happy together. And why was she being accused? What was it that she supposedly told Michael? Luke sighed when she reached the bus stop; she had to talk to Michael. Yes, that was what she had to do because talking to Mali would not do any good because the other girl was out of her mind and not ready to listen to her. She entered the bus and stared out of the window, her mind busy, thinking about what had just happened. She had never thought Mali would ever fight with her and that too for something that she did not do. The brunette was her best friend, shouldn’t she have known her better?

And Ashton? Why did Mali mention him? What did he have to do with everything? Was there another side of that story that she was not aware of? Was there more? She did meet Mali and Ashton at the mall, was there more than that? What was it that she did not grasp? Luke’s eyes widened. Did Michael break up with her because he found out about Calum? No, that was impossible. The only ones who knew about that were Calum and herself. Calum would definitely not tell Michael because they already talked and agreed to forget things. What if Calum had told Mali who told Michael? Sighing, Luke grabbed her bag and exited the bus, already making her way home. There were so many questions bothering her, so many answers that she needed and she wondered where she would start.

“Hey, you’re back already? I thought you usually go to after-school classes on Thursdays,” Michael said as soon as she entered the living room.

“Yeah but I’m tired today.” Luke walked up to him and dropped herself on the couch, next to him. “Why didn’t you tell me about Mali?”

“She told you,” Michael simply said.

“Yeah, she did,” Luke mumbled before mentally adding ‘and so many other things.’

“Ok.”

“Why? I mean, you two dated for so long.”

“Yeah, but sometimes it just doesn’t work after all and the only thing left to do is to part ways.”

“Michael, look at me. I know when you’re lying and I know something else happened. Last week you both were so happy together and today I found out that you’re not together anymore.”

“A lot of things have changed since last week.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Michael said as he turned his attention to the cushion that was in his lap.

“Tell me, I need to know. I’ve been blamed for something I didn’t do. So, I have to know what happened.”

“What? What did she say?” Michael frowned.

“Nothing important,” Luke shook her head.

“Lucy, what did she say?” Michael looked at her pointedly.

“That I told you something and I ruined everything between you two.”

“What? I dumped her because she was cheating on me.”

“Cheating? That’s impossible. I know her and I know that she would never do that to you or to anyone else.”

“Trust me, she was. It was hard for me to believe but I did see the messages on her phone. She forgot it here the other day.”

“That was why you were upset,” Luke concluded.

“Yeah…”

“I didn’t know. I mean, she never told me she was seeing someone else. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, it’s not your fault.”

“But I don’t understand one thing. What does Ashton has to do with all this?” Luke creased her eyebrows.

“Ashton’s the other guy,” Michael sighed.

“Wait, Ashton? As in Ashton Irwin, your best friend?”

“Yep, the only one. I think she failed to mention the part where she was screwing my best friend behind my back.”

“Shit! This is bad. I mean, why Ashton? She can have anyone she wants.”

“I dunno…” Michael stared at the floor as he held the cushion tighter.

“Are you ok?” Luke turned to face Michael and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll get over her but…”

“Why do I feel like there’s something else bugging you?”

“Why would you say that?”

“Because I know you well. What’s wrong? You can tell me.”

“Ashton,” was all Michael said.

“By the way, did you talk to him?”

“No, I don’t know what to say to him.”

Luke hummed; she could understand. She would have felt betrayed as well if her best friend slept with the one she loved. “It was not cool what he did.”

“I like him,” Michael said out of the blue.

“What?” Luke’s eyes widened as she stared at him.

“I have for a while,” the boy added.

“But then, Mali…”

“It’s not like I hated her or anything, I did care about her a lot. I just didn’t know how to end it without hurting her.”

Luke moved closer to him and pulled him in her arms, hugging him tight. Michael instantly relaxed in the embraced; he had not realised he had needed some extra comfort until that moment.

**O.O.O.O.O**

Luke chewed on the end of her pen, as she thought back to her conversation with Michael. So many things had happened and she had not even realise. Michael liked Ashton, when did that happen? How had she not notice anything? Mali was secretly dating Ashton. Mali was her best friend, they always shared everything, or so she thought until now. Then there was Calum, towards whom she could not help but feel attracted. No, she did not want to think about Calum. What happened between them was a mistake and she already gave her word to her mom. She would not do anything to disappoint her mom or Michael. Michael was already very much upset, she did not want to worsen things.

Sighing, she closed her copybook when she heard a knock on the door. She looked out of the window and made a face. It was raining heavily and there was thunder in a distance; she wondered who would leave their warm bed to knock at her door. The only person who crossed her mind was Mali, probably she wanted to apologise. Luke lazily dragged herself downstairs when she heard another knock.

“Calum?” Luke frowned as she opened the white wooden door. “What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in? It’s not very dry out here.”

“Huh… yeah…” Luke stepped aside to let him in before closing the door again. “What are you doing here, at this time, in this weather?”

“I was bored and there’s nobody home. I came to hang out with Michael.”

“Michael’s not here. I don’t think he’ll be back tonight.”

“Where’d he go, with Mali?”

“No, he went to drop mom at grandma’s. So, you don’t know?”

“Michael’s doesn’t always tell me where he’s going,” Calum laughed.

Luke slapped him at the back of his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about, dumbass.”

“Ow.” Calum threaded his fingers through his damp hair to rub his scalp. “What don’t I know?”

“Michael, Ashton or Mali didn’t tell you anything?”

“No, they were supposed to tell me something?”

“Michael dumped Mali, who was hooking up with Ashton,” Luke said, trying to put everything in the simplest way.

“Damn, when did that happen?”

“I don’t know. I got to know only yesterday,” Luke sighed.

“All this happened and no one bothered telling me?”

“Maybe if you look around yourself, you’ll notice things,” the blonde shrugged.

“It’s hard to notice anything else when there’s such a pretty girl sitting in front of me.”

“Pretty girl? I see none around. Oh wait, she’s invisible. Hello, Miss Invisible.”

Calum rolled his eyes at the comment. “You can’t see her but I can. She’s so pretty, especially when she lets her hair down,” Calum reached over to free her hair from the elastic that restrained them.

Luke groaned. “I’ve got homework to do. If the weather is still bad, you can stay in Michael’s room but if you’re leaving, don’t forget to lock the door. I’ll be in my room. Good night.”

Calum looked around the empty room and then outside; there was no way he was going out there again. Whistling to a random tune, he made his way upstairs.

“Nuh huh, wrong room,” Luke shook her head when she saw Calum walking towards her bed. “This is not Michael’s room.”

“I know… what will I go do alone in Michael’s room when I can be here where I have lovely company?”

“I have homework, I don’t want to deal with you right now.”

“Ok, I’ll just lie down here quietly until you’re done.”

Luke let out a frustrated sigh before turning her eyes to her copybook again. Why was Calum so annoying? That was a dumb question. She knew that already. She also knew that he was stubborn, too talkative, a jerk, very stupid sometimes, nice when he wanted to, like that cute little pet that could always make you smile, ridiculously good-looking, hot… Luke shook her head; she did not want to think about those things. No, not when Calum was lying on her bed, a few feet away from her.

“Why are those bags still lying on the floor, it’s been a week since you went shopping with your mom,” Calum commented when he saw the bags in a corner of the room, the bags that most probably contained the lace lingerie that her mom had bought for her.

Luke closed her eyes and then closed the copybook that was in front of her on the desk. “It’s my room, I’ll keep them wherever I want.”

“Did you even try them or have they been lying there since you got home?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Try them on,” Calum urged.

“What? No, why would I?”

“You need an expert opinion, and where else are you gonna find one that’s better than mine?”

“Expert?” Luke scoffed. “You’re so full of shit.”

“Come on, try them on.”

“Get lost Calum. Go home and leave me alone.”

“You know you secretly want to try them on for me,” Calum laughed.

“If you wanna look at women in their underwear, go online. You’ll find thousands of them.”

“That’s the problem. You’re the only one I wanna look at.”

“I’m right here. You can look at me. Why do you want me naked?”

“You understand nothing, don’t you? I don’t want you naked, I only want you close to me, closer than that,” he added before she could make any comment.

“Calum…”

Calum did not say anything, he only walked to the bags and pulled out a bra before giving it to her. Sighing, she took it from him; it was pointless arguing with him. The brunette smiled. He knew that deep down that was what she wanted but for some reasons, she was just suppressing her wants. After motioning for Calum to turn around, Luke pulled her shirt over her head and held the bra in her hand again, hesitating for a minute. She pulled the bright blue lace bra on and groaned when she struggled to reach one of the endings. Calum slightly turned his head to the side and laughed at the sight; she was such a disaster but she still made his heart flutter.

He shook his head and walked over to where she was. Gently slapping her hand away, he pushed her hair aside and ran a hand down her spine, causing her to shiver. He hooked the bra and placed a kiss to her shoulder blade before turning her around. Slowly, he placed two fingers under her chin and made her face him. Taking a deep breath, Luke looked into his eyes. She knew she had to look away before she got drown in them again but somehow, she could not. Her eyes fluttered close as Calum’s face inched closer to hers and took her lips between his. Luke instantly wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their bodies closer.

She wrapped her legs around Calum’s waist when he lifted her off the floor to carry her to the bed. They momentarily pulled away when Calum threw her on the bed. The moment her back hit the mattress and Calum was on top of her, Luke again claimed Calum’s lips. When her lips felt like it was not enough, Calum’s hands found their way to Luke’s naked sides, to feel her warm skin. Luke let out a gasp and turned her head to the side. Taking it as an opportunity, Calum attached his mouth to her neck and gently nibbled on the skin while Luke trailed a hand lower and slipped it under Calum’s tee, caressing his tone back.

She locked her legs round Calum’s middle and got rid of his shirt when he pulled his mouth away from her neck. Calum thrust his hips against hers and she let out a moan when she felt his erection between her legs. The blonde pulled away to look into Calum’s eyes when he slipped a hand inside her shorts and touched her.

**O.O.O.O.O**

Luke slowly opened her eyes and blinked at the sunlight that was coming from the open curtain. She wanted to get up but Calum was spooning her and holding her so tight that it made it nearly impossible for her to move. As she tried to turn around in the embrace, she made a face when her ass grazed Calum’s penis. Sighing, she gently nudged his side with her elbow.

“Wake up,” Luke whispered.

Calum groaned and shook his head. “Later mom.”

Luke rolled her eyes and playfully kicked his leg. “Get up.”

Calum forced his eyes open and took in his surroundings. He quickly willed himself to wake up when he realised he was still in Luke’s room. “Lucy,” he smiled sleepily before pressing a kiss to her head.

“Morning,” Luke smiled back and turned to face him.

Calum pulled the blanket over her naked chest and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I wish I could wake up like this every morning.”

Luke smiled; she wished so too but she knew wanting that would complicate things.

“Luke, I know we talked about it and I tried to suppress those feelings but I can’t.”

“Calum, please…”

“Let me say it today,” Calum shook his head when she opened her mouth again. “I love you.”

Luke fell silent after that statement; those were three little words that scared her.

“Don’t stay quiet, say something.”

“I… uhh…”

“I don’t only wanna be your brother’s best friend. I don’t only wanna be your friend. I wanna define our relationship,” Calum stated, looking into her eyes.

“What do you have in mind?” Luke asked, although she knew exactly what Calum meant.

“I’m asking you out, silly.”

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

“Luke, I know we talked about it and I tried to suppress those feelings but I can’t.”

“Calum, please…”

“Let me say it today,” Calum shook his head when she opened her mouth again. “I love you.”

Luke fell silent after that statement; those were three little words that scared her.

“Don’t stay quiet, say something.”

“I… uhh…”

“I don’t only wanna be your brother’s best friend. I don’t only wanna be your friend. I wanna define our relationship,” Calum stated, looking into her eyes.

“What do you have in mind?” Luke asked, although she knew exactly what Calum meant.

“I’m asking you out, silly.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m asking you out.”

“Why? I’ve moved on and you should too.”

“I can’t. I love you.”

“Love? Do you even know what love is?”

Calum closed his eyes and took a deep breath; he knew how stubborn Luke could be. He knew he loved her but it was going to take more than just saying I love you to show her how much she meant to him.

“Where was your love before you saw me in those clothes?”

“Ok, maybe I dunno what love is but surely know that I like you.”

“No, you don’t love me or like me. You just lust for me and for my body.”

“Just like you lust for me?” the moment that left Calum’s mouth, he regretted it.

“You’re just an asshole,” Luke said angrily. “Get out of my bed and get out of my house.”

“I didn’t… I’m sorry,” Calum mumbled and reached out for her but she pulled away.

“Leave, Calum.”

“Luke? Come on, you know I didn’t mean it. We were having such a good time.”

“Who ruined it?”

“I’m sorry. Can we cuddle again?”

“I don’t need this. I don’t need you. Go.”

Calum unwillingly pulled on his clothes and walked out of the door, without sparing her one last glance. Luke stared at her bedroom door and let out a frustrated groan. Things were going fine, why did she give in and let it happen again? She felt angry; angry at Calum because of what he said and angry at herself for giving in again. She needed to learn to control herself and those things she felt whenever she was with Calum. Luke angrily kicked the blanket off her but let out a groan when she realised that she was naked. She got up and pulled on some clothes while her mind was working, smiling when she found a solution to all her problems. If she tried to busy her mind with other things, she would not have time to think about Calum. And if she did not meet Calum, she would not end up sleeping with him again and problem solved.

 **……….::::::::::………**.

Luke drummed her fingers against her thigh and bobbed her head to the beat playing on her headphone as she walked to Ashton’s house. She took a deep breath and adjusted the strap of her backpack on her shoulder before walking down the path, to the front door, to ring the bell. After that day, she had made up her mind; instead of thinking about Calum, she had been thinking about how she would deal with the Michael situation. That was how she found herself in front of Ashton’s door.

“Hi,” Luke smiled at the blonde woman, who opened the door.

“Hello Lucy, how are you?”

“I’m good, how about you? I was wondering if Ashton is home.”

“Yeah I’m very well. He’s in his room, come on in.”

Luke nodded and stepped in, immediately making her way to the boy’s room.

“Ashton,” she said as she poked her head through the door. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” the older boy nodded from the bed.

“Are you alright? I mean, you don’t come around anymore.”

“Yeah, I’m alright. It’s just, I don’t know.”

“It’s Michael, right?”

“I, I don’t know how to face him. He’s probably so mad at me right now.”

“No, he’s not mad at you. He’s just disappointed.”

“I know, what I did was not cool. I really shouldn’t have,” Ashton shook his head.

“Why did you do it then? Do you like her?”

“I don’t know why I did it. You must think I’m a horrible person for doing that to my best friend.”

“Of course not. Ashton, you’re the sweetest guy I know. I just don’t understand why. It’s not like you.”

Ashton looked down at his hands that rested on his legs that were crossed under him; it was hard for him to even meet Luke’s eyes. Luke was talking to him but he could not help but wonder if Michael would ever forgive him.

“I’m so sorry, Lucy. I must have disappointed everyone,” Ashton mumbled and turned his head to the side when Luke placed a hand on his shoulder.

“If you two like each other, why didn’t you ever say anything?” Luke frowned.

“I wanted to but Mali told me not to.”

“How did it start between you two anyway?”

Ashton bit his lower lip, wondering how to explain things to Luke. “It’s complicated.”

“You can tell me,” Luke smiled encouragingly.

“One day, Mali came to me in tears, saying that she likes me and wanted to be with me. I didn’t know what to do, she was Michael’s girlfriend. So, I did what I thought was right, I said no.”

Luke hummed in response and urged him to go on; if she wanted to fix things, she had to know everything from the beginning.

“She came to me a few times, begging me.”

“So, you just said yes?”

“No, I didn’t. Then she told me Michael was cheating on her and I felt bad.”

“But you know Michael never cheated, right?”

“I don’t know but somehow she convinced me to say yes. I told her to tell Michael about it but she said she cares about him and didn’t want him to be hurt. She also told me not to tell him. And I didn’t because I never wanted to hurt him.”

“So, you don’t like her?”

“No… does it make it worse? Can I tell you something?”

“Of course, anything.”

“But you promise you won’t tell anyone.”

“I promise.”

“Actually I’m into guys,” Ashton carefully lifted his head to look at Luke. “That was the reason why I didn’t want to date her.”

“It’s ok, sweetie,” Luke leant over and hugged him, a big smile on her lips; somehow that revelation had just made her task easier. “Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will be alright. And Michael is definitely not mad at you, so do drop by and have a little chat with him. I’m sure he’ll feel better.”

**……….::::::::::……….**

“Hey babe,” Calum said as he leant in the doorway.

Luke sighed before turning around. “How’d you get in?”

“Karen let me in. She’s such a sweet woman,” Calum smiled widely as he made his way into her room.

“Why are you here?”

“I came to meet Michael and I figured I’d dropped in to say hi.”

“Hi! You may go now,” Lucy scoffed.

“Hi,” Calum whispered and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Michael?” Lucy said and Calum quickly turned around, only to realise there was no one there. The expression on Calum’s face was priceless and she wanted to laugh but she kept the serious face on.

“Not funny,” Calum wrapped an arm around her waist and pinched the tip of her nose.

“Get off me,” Luke whined, trying to push him away.

Calum smirked and guided them to the wall, pressing her back against it. He took her hands in his and pinned them against the wall, on either sides of her head. Very slowly, he tilted his head to the side and inched closer, until his lips were against hers. Luke instantly relaxed and closed her eyes, kissing Calum back. There she was again, doing the complete opposite of what she had said she would do. When the realisation of what she was doing hit her, Luke turned her face to the side, breaking the kiss.

“Let me go,” she mumbled.

“You know you want it too, why do you keep pushing it away?”

“Please, Calum. If you really do care about me, then let me go.”

“Fine,” Calum sighed, defeated. “Why do you keep doing this to me?”

“Me, me, me. It’s always about you.”

“No, it’s not. I do think about others.”

“Yeah? If you did, you’d have known there are more important things happening right now,” Luke said loudly.

Calum closed his eyes and took a deep breath; he wanted to scream, to shout at her for always pushing him away but he decided to keep his calm, again. “Ok,” Calum nodded and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “So, tell me what’s happening.”

“Michael, for instance, he’s upset. Did you notice?”

“Of course, I did, which is why I’m here.”

“But that’s not how I see things, considering you’re in my room.”

“I told you, I came in to say hi,” the brunette shrugged. “Michael’s a big guy, he’ll be fine.”

“And Ashton is not doing much better. He’s feeling bad about the whole situation. And he also dumped Mali.”

“I didn’t know. No one told me. In fact, I haven’t seen Ashton since this whole thing happened.”

Luke started narrating everything that Ashton had told her, leaving out the part where he said he was into guys. “We have to do something.”

Calum smiled inwardly as that would mean he would get to spend extra time with Luke. “But what?”

“I dunno but we’ve got to do something.”

“Do you want me to talk to my sister?”

“How would that help?” she asked and dropped herself beside Calum, thinking.

“If we wanna do something, we have to find out the whole truth. Besides, from what you told me, it looks like Mali convinced Ashton to date her.”

“You mean, blackmail.”

“Hey, you don’t know that,” Calum creased his brow; it was his sister Luke was talking about.

“You don’t have to defend her because she’s your sister.”

Calum ignored her and poked her in the ribs. “Luke, gimme a kiss.”

“Fuck off, Calum.”

“What? I’m only asking for a kiss, nothing else.”

“Fine.” Luke leant forward and pressed her lips to Calum’s cheek. “There.”

“Seriously? You call that a kiss?”

“A kiss is a kiss, Honey.”

“Hey, Luke?”

“Hmm…”

“Kiss me?”

“No,” Luke rolled her eyes.

“How about now?”

Luke hummed and turned to the side, deciding to give Calum what he wanted. It was just a kiss after all and if she gave him what he wanted, he would stop annoying her. So, she leant in but before she could press their lips together, she heard somebody clear his throat.

“Michael?” Luke swallowed.

“What’s going on?”

“Umm… nothing, I was just telling Calum how mean his sister was to me.”

“You alright?” Calum asked and hugged the other boy. “I was coming to meet you but Luke call me in here to complain about Mali.”

“What? That is such a lie.”

“It’s not. Why else do you think I’d be in your room?”

“I can’t believe this,” Luke said, throwing her hands in the air.

“Michael, your sister is such a drama queen.”

“What? I am not. Stop being a prick.”

Michael shook his head; there they were again, bickering. Taking Calum’s arm, he dragged the boy out of Luke’s room. Calum smiled at the girl before blowing her a kiss. Luke rolled her eyes at the action. She did not know whether she should be mad at Calum or she should laugh at his childishness. It was hard for her to push Calum away again and again, it broke her heart every time, especially when Calum was being so sweet and undeniably charming but she could not be selfish and only think about herself. She did care a lot about Calum, she would not deny that, but what Calum was asking, she was not sure she was ready for that yet.


	9. Chapter 9

“What the hell was that?” Michael asked the moment he closed the door to his room.

“What?” Calum asked casually. “I have…”

“Don’t you fucking say you have no idea what I’m talking about,” Michael glared at him.

“I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“What the hell were you doing with my sister?”

“We were only talking.”

“Yeah? That’s not what it looked like. I saw you kissing her.”

“I didn’t,” Calum frowned; he had asked her and she was the one who was about to kiss him when Michael showed up.

“I’m not an idiot, you know? I saw you kissing her against the wall.”

“You were keeping an eye on us?”

“No, I was just going to see Lucy and then I happened to have seen you kissing her.”

“Can you stop saying ‘kissing her’ all the time? You’re making it sound like such a bad thing. How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to see everything that goes on behind my back. I thought I made it clear that my sister is off-limit.”

Yes, Calum knew that Luke was off-limit; Michael had repeated that countless times in the past. Yet, he could not help himself but be attracted towards her. He had always restrained himself while thinking about Michael and what he said but that night, he did not know what had gotten into him and he had crossed that line. After getting a tasted of what he had wanted for so many years, for four years, he did not know how to hold back anymore; he wanted her, needed her beside him and that was all he knew. Deep down, he knew sooner or later Michael was going to find out about them but he did not expect it to be so soon and he had not planned how to handle the situation.

“Calum, I’m talking to you. Don’t ignore me.”

“What am I to say?” Calum sighed.

“She was off-limit, then why?”

“I don’t know Michael. Things just happened…”

“Things? What things?” Michael stared at the brunette, dreading what he would say next; he only hope what he was thinking did not happen.

Calum looked at the other boy. That was Michael and he had to be careful about what he would say because the other boy was super protective when it came to Luke. Calum wanted to lie, say anything that was far from the truth but finally decided against it. That would only make things worse if Michael ever find out the truth and the slightest chance that he might have had to be with her would be destroyed. So, he was going to speak the truth but how was he going to do that? Michael was looking at him, glaring at him, like he might just make him disappear if he did not like something that Calum would say.

“I… we…” Calum stopped and looked at Michael, who was still scowling at him. He took a couple steps away from the other boy before speaking again. “You know… the things that happen when a boy and a girl are left alone…”

“These kind of talk seriously do not suit you, Calum. Just get to the point.”

Calum took a deep breath. “We had sex.”

Michael’s jaw dropped and he balled his hands into fists by his sides. Which part of ‘Lucy is off-limit’ did Calum not understand? Calum looked at Michael and gulped; the situation was not looking to his advantage at all, not even a little bit. Michael looked angry and Calum had the impression if he said something else, one of those fists might hit him. He looked at the door and wanted to make a run for it but Michael was standing between him and the door and there was no way he could get out of there without getting close to Michael, which was something that he did not really want. Calum shook his head; it was not the time to be scared of Michael, it was the time to stand up for what he really wanted.

“Listen, you don’t have to make a big deal out of it. She wanted it and I wanted it. She’s an adult.”

“She’s 17,” Michael stated.

“Almost an adult… what I’m saying is… she’s a big girl and maybe you should let her make her own choices.”

“I do let her make her own choices but I also know what’s best for her. I just can’t believe you had sex with my sister.”

“You had sex with mine.”

If Michael was calming down a few seconds earlier, he was definitely on the verge of kicking Calum at that moment. So, the other boy had sex with Luke because Michael had sex with Mali? That was bullshit.

“I didn’t mean it… like that. It just came out that way. All I wanted to say was: if I didn’t have a problem when you dated my sister, you shouldn’t have a problem either…”

“You know what? I don’t want to see you near Lucy ever again and if I do, I’m gonna rip out your balls.”

“Michael, come on…”

“Get out, Calum.”

Calum sighed and walked towards the door. He knew there was nothing he could say at that moment that would make Michael change his mind, except giving him some time to calm down. Already he was having a hard time with Luke and now, Michael had to add to it. Things were definitely not going the way he wanted.

**O.O.O.O.O**

Luke tapped her finger pads against the wooden table as she waited for Calum to join her. She had found it odd that the boy had asked her to meet him at a café instead of at home, like she wanted but she did not have time to ask for an explanation because the conversation with Calum had been a very short and plain one. Plus, he was late, which was also very unlike him. Something was wrong and she could tell; after all, she had known Calum for most of her life. After long minutes of waiting for Calum, she restrained herself from calling Calum and ordered herself a coffee.

“Hey,” Calum simply said.

Luke frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… what a thought...” Calum forced laugh.

Lies, Luke thought. “Two days ago you came to my house and you were fine. Today you’re like this.”

“Lots of things can happen in two days,” Calum mumbled to himself.

“What was that?”

“Nothing… I was saying you already ordered yourself a coffee.”

“Well, you’re late and I was bored.”

“So, I talked to Mali…”Calum started and looked at his hands.

“And?”

“She told me why she did it, why she dated Ashton. You were right, she’s not in love with Ashton either.”

“Ok, she cheated on Michael with Ashton but she loves neither of them? I don’t understand why she would do that and I feel stupid because I’m supposed to be her best friend. Tell me the whole thing.”

Calum started narrating how Mali had found out about how Michael was not in love with her but with someone else and that someone was Michael’s very own best friend, Ashton. She was heartbroken and to hurt Michael back, she decided to seduce Ashton herself. There was no bigger satisfaction to be the one who could have Ashton when she knew very well that it was something that Michael wanted but could not have. She had also told Calum that she wanted Michael to find out so that she could see him as heartbroken as she was but she was not ready for it to have happened so soon.

“That’s so mean,” Luke blinked. “How could she?”

“I know…”

“How did she find out about Michael and Ashton?”

“So, you knew and you never said a thing?”

“No, Michael told me after they broke up.”

“Am I the only one who’s ignorant about things or what?” Calum shook his head in disbelief.

“Aww… Calum you’re so dumb it’s cute,” Luke laughed and ruffled his hair. Calum inched away from the touch but it did not go unnoticed by Luke; she would have to ask him about that later. “So, how did she find out?”

“Apparently, Michael accidentally moaned Ashton’s name when they were doing it, not once but a few times.”

“We have to bring them together.”

Calum creased his eyebrow; he was certainly confused. “Who?”

“Michael and Ashton, of course.”

“Look, I know you’re concerned about Michael but have you given a thought about Ashton? You can’t just impose that on him because Michael wants it. That is not fair.”

“Are you done? Can I talk now?”

“Whatever.”

“So, I have a confession. When I went to meet Ashton, he told me the reason he did not want to be with Mali at first was because he likes guys.”

Calum stared at her with a dumbfounded expression. “I really am ignorant about things, am I not?”

She shook her head at the boy before smiling brightly. “We have to come up with a plan.”

“To get them together?” Calum asked and she nodded. “But what if Ashton doesn’t like Michael?”

“I guess we’ll have to find out,” Luke shrugged.

“How?”

“Just leave that to me.”

“Ok but trust me, this is not going to work,” Calum said confidently.

“Oh, I beg to differ Mister.”

“I’m so rolling my eyes at that,” Calum scoffed. “I guess we’ll meet when you find out.”

Luke frowned again; Calum was leaving already, just like that, without teasing her about something or even passing a cocky remark? There definitely was something that was off about him. At that point, Luke was certain about that and she had to find out what it was.

“Hey Calum,” Luke called when the brunette was getting up.

“Yeah?”

“Wanna go somewhere else?”

“I’d have loved to but I’ve got some work to do, school work.”

Calum was refusing to go somewhere with her? That was literally impossible. “Calum Hood, you’re like an open book to me and I know something is wrong. What is it?”

Calum looked at her, wondering if he should tell her or not. He might as well do because she would find out either way. “He knows.”

“He knows? Who knows what?”

“Michael, he saw us.”

“Shut up, that’s not funny.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“Shit! How?”

“He saw us kissing.”

“I told you we have to be careful,” Luke said angrily.

“So, you’re just gonna just blame it on me now? It’s not like it’s my fault,” Calum said loudly.

“So, you’re saying it’s my fault?”

“You know what? Whatever… I’m done here.” Calum got up and walked away, leaving her to stare at him.

Luke grabbed her stuffs and ran after him. “You do not walk away when I’m talking. And it was not my fault. It was all yours because I told you to stop countless times but you didn’t.”

“You won’t have to worry about that now. I gave Michael my word and I intend to keep it this time. He’s my best friend and what’s what matters. You stay away from me.” As much as it broke his heart, Calum had to say those words; they were the only things that could keep Luke away from him and sort thing out. If he stayed away from her and her from him, no one would be tempted to do things and everyone would be happy.

**O.O.O.O.O**

Luke rolled on her other side and closed her eyes tighter; she wanted to sleep but she could not. Calum’s words kept ringing in her ears; Michael knew. How did she let that happen? If Michael knew, it would only be a matter of days before her mom find out too. She was so screwed. Karen was not going to like that, especially not after Luke gave her her word. That was very irresponsible on her part. Every time she would decide to stay away from Calum but then he would come in front of her and she would forget everything and give in to him. She was in a mess and she knew it but somehow, she could not find a way out.

Anyways, whatever had happened was for the best; Calum had told her to stay away from him, which was what she wanted. Calum not being around for a while might help her forget anything ever happened between them and hopefully they could get back to being good friends. Still, deep down, she knew her heart was pining for him. She missed how Calum always did what she told him not to or how Calum would shamelessly flirt with her or how he would find something funny in whatever she would say or how Calum would always manage to make her give in to him because he knew she secretly wanted it too.

‘His best friend was all that mattered’ Calum had said. What about her? Did she not mean anything to him? Was she just one of those girls as well? Luke shook her head, she knew Calum better than that to think that about him. Although she had asked Calum to stop many times before, she knew she wanted much more in that relationship than there was. She somehow had the impression Michael had a hand in that because hell, Michael could be very convincing when he wanted it. So what if stupid Calum had given up, she was not going to do the same. That was too beautiful of a thing to let go.


	10. Chapter 10

Luke tapped her pencil against her chin as she looked out the window and let her mind drift back to the conversation that she had had with Calum a few days ago. She was supposed to be doing her homework but instead, she was sitting by the window, her copybook in front of her, while she thought about the brunette. Actually, she had not seen or heard from Calum since that day. They were supposed to be doing something to get Ashton and Michael together but the brunette was not returning any of her calls or answering her texts either; how were they ever to achieve something if they were not contacting each other. That was only half of her worries, the other half was the fact that Calum had told her to stay away from him. Oddly enough, that behaviour was not very Calum-like; the boy that Luke knew, would not have given up like that, not after making it so obvious how much he wanted to be with her.

Her house, which was usually lively and so full of people, had turned very quiet lately. Since Mali had fought with her, she had stopped coming over. Even Ashton and Calum never show up anymore. As for Michael, even he was scarce; instead of Ashton and Calum coming over to hang out with Michael, it was Michael, who would go and meet them. Luke could not even remember the last time she had a proper conversation with Michael. If ever she happened to cross path with him in the corridor or anywhere else in the house, all she could see in his eyes was: disappointment. Then the older boy would just go back to doing whatever he was doing after a ‘hey’ or a nod of the head. Why did things have to be so complicated? Luke shook her head; things were not complicated, boys were complicated.

Even her mom had sense the tension between her and Michael and Luke could tell because the woman had asked her about it numerous times but Luke had only brushed it off, saying she was tired. _Another lie._ Sighing, Luke closed her copybook and placed it on her desk; it was nearly eleven and she should probably go downstairs and get some breakfast before her mom dragged her out of there. Unwillingly, she dragged her feet to her closet and stared at her clothes, frowning when her eyes landed on a bag. It was a bag that Calum had given her at the café the last time they met and only when she got home that Luke had looked at its content, realising the clothes that she had worn that night and left at Calum’s house were in there. Those clothes, which were the cause of all the troubles and were given to her by… Mali.

Eleven minutes later, she was no longer standing in front of her closet but in front of Mali’s house, banging on the door angrily. Fortunately for her, Mali was the one who opened the door and the other girl stared at her; Luke was still in her pyjama, her hair was a mess on her head and she was barefoot.

“What’s the rush?” Mali asked, with a frown.

Luke only threw the bag at her. “This is all your fucking fault. And I don’t want any of your stuffs.”

“It’s not my fault if you wanted to fuck my brother.”

“How can you say it like that? If you don’t have a care in the world for me, at least care about Calum.”

“I do care about Calum, which is why I want you to stay away from him, you bitch.”

“I didn’t go after him, he came after me. Don’t call me bitch, you mean bitch.”

“I’ll call you what you deserve to be called.”

“At least I’m not a slut who fucks around with her boyfriend’s best friend.”

“That’s none of your concern and if it wasn’t for me, Calum would never have looked at you, you ugly shit.”

“I’d rather be ugly and be myself than be someone like you, a mean-selfish-manipulative-cunt.”

Mali rolled her eyes at that before looking at the bag at her foot and the clothes that were peeking out of it. “I also gave you heels. Where are they?” she asked angrily.

“I dunno maybe if you look around your house, you’ll find them.”

“Get lost then,” Mali said and closed the door in Luke’s face before she had time to say anything else.

“What?” Luke asked in an irritated tone when she turned around and saw Calum walking towards the door. “Are you gonna drive me home or are you gonna let me walk back barefoot?”

“I’m busy,” the brunette replied without looking at her.

“Arghhh” Luke groaned, punching Calum in the back when he walked past her. She shook her head in disbelief as she watched the boy close the door behind himself, leaving her standing there. “Fucking rude people,” she shouted.

Turning on her heels again, Luke walked down the road and back home. Halfway there, she regretted not having worn some shoes as she could feel the heat coming from the sidewalk and her feet were literally burning. When she realised she would not be able to take another step forward, Luke started running.

“Where are you coming from, breathless and dressed like this?” Michael asked when Luke opened the door and went inside.

“Out, outside. I was just…”

“Are you coming from Calum’s house?”

“Yes.”

“How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from him?”

“I went to meet Mali. Your best friend is not the only one who lives there.”

“Don’t give me attitude,” Michael glared at her and she looked down at her hands.

“Did you meet him?”

“How can I meet him when you’ve set all these boundaries? You’ve already decided everything, without even asking for my opinion. You didn’t even bother asking me what I wanted. Luke always has to do what Michael wants. If you’re worried about me and Calum talking or seeing each other, then don’t. He won’t even talk to me. And it’s all your fault,” Luke shouted.

“Lucy…” Michael mumbled as he stared at her.

Luke closed her eyes and brought a hand up to press her palm against them when she realised what she had said. “Shit! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s just that I’m so mad and sick of Mali calling me names. I’m sorry.”

Michael kept his eyes on her back as she walked towards the stairs.

**O.O.O.O.O.O**

Calum took his hoodie off and set it on the back of a chair before letting out a sigh. The way he had acted with Luke was rude and it broke his heart to do so but he was only doing it for her own good. The farther he stayed away from her, the faster she would get over him and move on, just like Michael wanted. The least Calum wanted was to mess up his relationship with Michael to build a new one with Luke. It was a tough task, giving up his love, but it was best for everyone. Calum walked to the bathroom and stripped himself before going in the shower stall. He trailed his hand down his chest and lightly grazed his penis; he was horny. He has been for the past few days but he refused to be with someone else because that would be like cheating on Luke, even though he knew they were not together.

He closed his eyes as he wrapped his fingers around himself, just like Luke had done when he had gone to her house that stormy night. A gasp escaped his mouth when he tugged on the length. It had been so long since he had touched himself and even the tiniest thing was feeling good, like the way water was running down his chest and back and his hand was lazily stroking him. The brunette took his bottom lip between his teeth and sucked on it as he imagined that it was Luke’s hand around him, her hands sliding up and down his chest, her naked chest pressed against his back while her lips laid light kisses to his shoulder. With his free hand, Calum massaged his balls and lightly squeezed them.

As the images of that night flashed into his head, his hand moved faster and he pressed his back against the tiled wall, to steady himself. Calum breathed unevenly through his mouth and added more pressure as he pictured himself going in and out of Luke, against the wall of the shower stall. He connected his lips to Luke’s neck and impatiently kissed her soft skin that he was dying to kiss again while his hips moved rapidly back and forth against hers. She hoisted herself up and slid back down on his dick as her hands gripped his shoulders tighter. Calum’s hand gradually slowed down as he came with a low moan. He took a minute to catch his breath before resuming his shower.

**O.O.O.O.O.O**

A few weeks had passed and things seemed to have lightened up. Luke was sitting in the living room, watching SpongeBob and eating a big bowl of ice-cream while Michael was vacuuming the room.

“Move, you’re blocking my way,” Luke whined.

“I would be delighted if you could get your ass off that couch and help me. Mom will back in an hour and we still need to clean the garage. She’ll be mad if we aren’t done,” the older boy stated as he put his hands on his hips.

“It’s Sunday and I don’t wanna do any chores.”

“Before going to gran, mom told us that we have the weekend to clean the house and you didn’t lift a finger to help.”

Luke smiled brightly and shoved a spoonful of ice-cream into her mouth. “I love you too, Michael.”

Michael shook his head at her before resuming his task; it had been so long since he had seen her smile genuinely. “I hope you left me some ice-cream,” the boy smiled back.

“No, I didn’t,” Luke snickered.

“You greedy little girl, wait until I catch you,” Michael laughed and turned off the vacuum cleaner, dropping it in the doorway.

“Ahh… it’s mine,” Luke shouted when Michael tried to pull the bowl from her hand.

“It’s mine now…”

“Who’s greedy now? Give it back.”

“Not until you say: pretty please Michael, you’re the best brother in the world, I love you and I will help you clean the garage.”

“Blackmailer.”

“I’m waiting,” Michael wriggled his eyebrows as he shoved a big spoon of the dessert into his mouth.

Luke sighed. “Fine. Pretty please, Michael. You’re the best brother in the world even though you annoy me sometimes but I still love you and I won’t help you clean the garage.”

“Come on, you know we’ll be done faster if you help me out.”

“Eek, I’m not. I swear the other day I saw a spider the size of a mouse in there. Who knows what other kind of bugs there are.”

“Lazy,” Michael shook his head again.

Luke did not have the time to say anything when the front door opened and she heard some loud laughter. A frown appeared on her face when Ashton moved to Michael and pressed a kiss to his temple, causing a bright smile to instantly appear on his lips.

“Umm… what the hell is going on? Am I missing something?” Luke questioned looking back and forth from Michael to Ashton.

“We’re… uhh…” Michael paused, trying to find the right words. “We’re sorta together?”

“What? When did this happen and how come this is the first time I’m hearing about it?” Luke asked a bit louder.

“It’s been a week or so…”

“And you didn’t even bother telling me?”

“Lucy, I was going to… I…”

“You what? I can’t believe you’ve been lying to me.”

“Lucy, come on.”

“Is this how it is now? You don’t trust me?” Luke said in disbelief. “How did it even happen?”

“It’s just Calum and his brilliant ideas,” Ashton smiled.

“You,” Luke sighed angrily as she turned to Calum. “How could you do that?” poking Calum’s chest with her index with every words that she said.

“What?” Calum shrugged.

“What… that’s all you have to say, what. It was my idea to get them together and now, it’s your brilliant idea? This is great, awesome,” Luke scoffed as she threw her hands in the air.

“Oh, come on,” Calum groaned. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Boys are such pricks,” Luke let out loud before leaving.

 


	11. Chapter 11

Michael made his away to Luke’s room and, crossing his arms over his chest, he leant against the doorframe and looked at Luke, who was sitting by the window. The blonde girl looked at the nail that she had been biting on before popping the same finger into her mouth to again bite on it. Pulling it out of her mouth for a second time, she looked at it and moved on to the next nail. Michael sighed; just when things were back to normal with Luke, something had to happen to mess things up again. He knew he should have told her, since they did not keep any secrets from each other but that was ridiculous; she was ignoring him for such a trivial matter.

“Are you still mad at me?” Michael asked as he made his way to where she was sitting on the window sill.

“Yes, shouldn’t I be?” Luke replied, without looking at him.

“Come on, it’s been three weeks already. Look at me,” Michael said and made her look at him.

“What? I looked at you, you still look like you did yesterday; now what?”

“Please Lucy, I was going to tell you.”

“When? After the whole world already knew?”

“Don’t you think you’re over-reacting?”

“Am I now? It was my idea to get you and Ashton together but a dickhead stole it and suddenly he became the mastermind of that plan and is proudly taking all the credits for it.”

“So, you’re more mad because Calum stole your idea?”

“No, I’m more mad because my brother doesn’t think it’s important to tell me he has a boyfriend,” Luke said, in an exaggerated tone.

“I’m pretty sure it’s because of Calum.”

Luke closed her eyes and let out a sigh; if she had been mad at Michael, at that point she was definitely furious. First, Michael had told her to stay away from Calum and when she was trying forget him, he just kept repeating his name over and over. “Stop saying that name in front of me,” Luke said angrily. “I don’t wanna hear that asshole’s name. They are all the same. Hoods are losers, backstabbers.”

“Chill, Lucy. Just because Mali did something wrong doesn’t mean you gotta blame Calum.” Michael took her hand and walked them to the bed, where he motioned for her to have a seat and sat too.

“Oh, so now you’re siding him? Wow, Michael, that’s great. I never thought you’d go against me for your best friend,” Luke scoffed.

“You’re just blowing everything out of proportion. Tell me what I can do to make you not be mad anymore?”

Luke smiled and playfully pushed his head. “Get lost. I’m not mad at you. Ok, I was but you didn’t come talk to me, so I got more mad.”

“You’re such a drama queen.”

“What can I do? I’m your sister, I learnt that from you,” Luke laughed.

“What? I never.”

“You do, always,” Luke chuckled and ran out of the room.

“Get back here, you little prick.”

“No, try to catch me if you can.”

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

“No, Ashton, never,” Calum shook his head.

Calum closed his eyes as he let thoughts of Luke fill his mind. Luke; he had never imagine something would blossom between them but just like he had promised Michael, he was keeping his distances. However, that did not mean he had erased her from his heart or his mind or his entire being. Calum shook his head again; whatever Ashton was asking him, it was too much. He would never be able to do that, not if he was honest with himself and with what he had shared with Luke.

“Come on, give it a try. How are you gonna know you’re not gonna like it if you don’t give it a shot?”

“I can’t… don’t force me,” Calum sighed.

“I’m not forcing you. Just meet her once…”

“No, big fat no,” Calum said but Ashton ignored him and kept talking.

“…if you don’t like it or her, you don’t have to meet her again and we can just forget anything ever happened.”

“I… huh… I don’t think I can replace Luke.”

Ashton laughed, slapping his hand together. “Wow, ‘can’t replace her’. What are you, Romeo now? You only had sex once.”

“The sex was great but it’s not about that. I love her man,” Calum stated, which caused Ashton to laugh even harder. “And for your information, it was twice.”

“So, you had her naked in bed twice and suddenly you’re in love with her?”

“What? I told you it’s not about the sex, it never had been,” Calum said as he looked at his palm.

“What is it then?”

“I fell for her a while ago but I was too afraid to tell her. When things happened between us, that night, it only made me want more.”

“So, you’ve been in love with her for ages and you never said anything. Why?”

“Well, you know how Michael can get when it concerns Luke.”

“You’re scared of Michael,” Ashton again laughed.

“Why does everyone keep saying that? I’m not scared of Michael. I only cared about him. Care, without an ‘s’ in front.”

“Does Michael know about all this?”

“Shit! Why did I tell you? You’re Michael’s boyfriend.”

“Yeah, before that I’m your best friend. And since you promised Michael you’re gonna move on, you’re gonna meet this girl.”

“Is there any way I can change your mind?”

“Let me think. No. Trust me, you’re not gonna regret this. You’ll like her.”

“I doubt that,” Calum mumbled.

“Cool, I’ll pick you up tomorrow at eleven. It’s a date, wear something nice.”

“You’re leaving. You came just to set me up with a random girl, then you’re leaving?”

“I… I would have loved to stay but I’m going to the movies with Michael,” Ashton said apologetically.

“Yeah, Michael and Ashton are going to the movies while Calum is alone, at home, in his room.”

“But if you meet that girl and you like her, maybe next time we can have a double date.”

“Go, get lost.”

Calum let himself fall backward on the bed, the moment Ashton waved at him and closed his door. Being away from Luke was harder than he had anticipated but he was going to hold back and keep his words. He may not be with her at that moment but he cherished every single moments he had spent with her and every memory were precious to him. Calum knew that Michael would have known someday but that day came faster than the speed of light. He wished he had been more careful. He wished he had spent more time with Luke. He wished he could go back, turn back time and do things over again but differently.

He had buried those feelings deep inside of him but after getting a taste of how things could be between him and Luke, Calum could not help but want more. Back to when they used to be friends, there was nothing between them and yet, to Calum, it was more than anything. Every friendly touch, every laughter, every little fights and arguments, every time he would annoy her because he thought she was cute when she was angry, every time they hugged and every minutes they spent together; to others those might mean nothing but to Calum, they were essential. Things were different now, a gesture no matter how friendly it was, even that he would not get.

Could Ashton be right though? Will he ever be able to move on? He did not know about the future, but as for now, his heart was being stubborn. He had promised to stay away from Luke but had never said anything about not thinking about her. His thoughts were his and there was no one who could tell him what to think or not, not even Michael. His imagination; that was the only place he could still be with Luke, without anyone having any problem, it was his happy place. For now, he would linger a little bit more in Luke’s thoughts, he would worry about that girl later.

**OoOoOoOoOoO**

“Michael, can you tell me where we’re going?” Luke asked as she dragged her feet and also tried to keep up with the boy.

Michael stopped and turned to face her. “Lucy, don’t be mad but I knew if I had told you, you wouldn’t have come along.”

“What did you do?” Luke raised a questioning eyebrow.

“I know how you have been sad and upset about Calum but I think…”

“You think? You think what?” Luke frowned; she knew Michael had been up to something with the way he was acting all morning.

“I think you need to move on.”

The sentence was like a dagger right in her heart but she knew Michael was right. “I know but it’s gonna take some time.”

“Or…” Michael smiled brightly. “May be if you meet someone else…”

“What?”

“Please just listen to what I have to say…”

“I wanna go home,” Luke said firmly and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Please, do it for me.”

“Fine,” Luke sighed.

Luke could still remember how excited Michael was when he came to her room that morning. He had given her a bag and had asked her to wear whatever was inside because they were going out for lunch. She had smiled brightly, happy that Michael had gotten her a gift but when she had peeked inside, it was like a déjà-vu situation. Luke had stared at the dress as she had pulled it out of the bag, remembering that night when Mali had given her those clothes that were the reasons for her misery. Why would Michael do that to her as well? Luke shook her head negatively; Michael would never do anything to hurt her.

She was still staring at the dress when Michael had left to get ready. Unwillingly she changed into the dress and moved to the mirror to look at herself. It was a light blue summer dress that reached to her mid-thighs and Luke had to admit, it was pretty comfortable. It was not extravagant or anything and she could still wear her converse with it, which was more practical than heels. That was how she had found herself following Michael into the food court.

“Hey, you made it,” Michael said as he walked to the table where Ashton and Calum were seated.

Calum eyed the other two who came before leaning close to Ashton and whispering. “What are they doing here?”

The brunette groaned inwardly; he had agreed to meet up with that girl but it would be really awkward if Luke was there. What would she think of him? And why would Ashton do that to him when he had clearly told the other boy that he was in love with Luke?

“Our table is over there,” Ashton said as he got up and hugged Michael before walking away with the boy.

“Luke?” Calum uttered in confusion.

“Hi?” she rather asked than said since she was as confused as Calum was. Was that a joke? Or was she at the wrong table?”

Calum was going to say something but his phone buzzed in his pocket and he diverted his attention to it instead. It was a text from Michael.

_‘r u gonna ask her 2 sit or r u gonna let her stand there?’_

Frowning at the message, he quickly turned to the other two boys. “What’s going on?”

“For months they’ve been craving for this and now they’re asking us what’s going on?” Ashton chuckled.

“Am I missing something?” Luke asked and Calum turned to look at her.

“Umm… have a seat,” Calum smiled.

“Guys,” Michael called from the other table. “Don’t waste your time being awkward around each other. We have to go to the movies afterwards.”

“I told you,” Ashton smiled. “Next time will be a double date.”

“I don’t think I’ll go and I’m not very hungry.”

“Really? You’ve been nagging me all the way saying that you were starving,” Michael laughed.

“I wonder why you two are sitting at a different table. There’s enough room for anyone,” Calum pointed out.

“Just giving you two some privacy,” Michael shrugged.

“Yeah?” Calum laughed. “That’s not what it looks like.”

“Don’t worry about us, you’ve got a date,” Ashton said as he motioned to Luke.

Luke scoffed. “I’d rather die than be your date.”

“That’s not very nice,” Calum commented.

“Oh like you were very nice to me. You were rude and mean and arrogant.”

“I… I thought it would be easier for you to, you know, go away.”

“Jerk,” Luke mumbled and punched him in the shoulder.

“I’m sorry. I really am. It has hurt me as much as it has hurt you. Forgive me?”

Luke just had to take one look at Calum and she instantly forgave him. “Forgiven,” she said with a smile.

“Luke,” Calum reached out and took her hand into his. “I love you. I have since ages ago but was too scared to tell you.”

“Aww, I love you too.”

“Aww,” Michael and Ashton mimicked as Calum and Luke pressed their lips together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!! Completed, so happy :) do let me know what you think xx

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think so I can keep going :)


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